The last of all problems
by Chrono cross maniac
Summary: Revised and COMPLETED! Chapter 15 uploaded! This story comes to a dramatic conclusion! Please read and review (I've also revised all the previous chapters, so read them if you want)!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft or any of the characters of this story that can also be seen in the Starcraft videogame. Those are the property of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.  
  
Prologue  
  
The dust had settled on the Kopruru sector, and the Zerg had emerged victorious, defeating the UED, the Protoss and the Dominion during the Brood War's bloody climax. It seemed that the Zerg and their leader, the infested terran Kerrigan, were unstoppable. The Zerg's enemies lived in fear, desperately trying to rebuild their defences. A few Protoss had even deserted the Conclave and the Dark Templar, choosing to go with the terran Raynor instead. It had already been two years, and Kerrigan had rebuilt an unstoppable strike force, ready to destroy her enemies once and for all. And just when she thought it was over for her enemies, a problem now arose, and it arose from the terran she had once loved...  
  
The Last of all Problems  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Kerrigan was inside one of her Overlords, seeming worried about something. It was understandable, since the situation, though not desperate, was potentially dangerous itself: The renegade terrans, led by a dashing knight in shining armor named Jim Raynor, had recently developed a way to restore her infested minions to their former terran selves. They only needed the presence of a person who actually remembered the one infested as a terran well enough.  
  
That infested person would simply wear a special helmet on the head and memories of the patient's older self would simply be channeled through it. Preceding it would be a wave of psionic energy to weaken his or her mind defenses. That way, the rejection of seeing old memories would be reduced enough to a measly 0.5%, in most cases eventually restoring the patient's old self psychologically. Then, physically, the person would only need a special treatment for a couple of months to be cured.  
  
She knows; because those were the last images of an infested terran that she had spent a year probing, which all ended by a single switch being turned on, after which the helmet did its job well. In fact, it could've almost comatosed her; if it were not for her cerebrate Daggoth's timely interjection to cut her link with her minion.  
  
Even though it would take a lot of psionic energy, even her, the powerful and deadly Queen of the Blades, was still in precarious position to be--- cured.  
  
She visited Mengsk, pretending to wish to negotiate a peace treaty, while instead erasing every memory he had of her as she had been, all thanks to her deadly psionic powers. Her cerebrates criticized that move, claiming she should have killed him. But Kerrigan wanted Mengsk to live, for now. He had saved her from the former Confederacy, and now, finally, they would be even. Afterwards, with Mengsk out of the way, she began hunting down the very last terran that remembered her as her older self: Commander Jim Raynor, the terran she had once loved.  
  
It was not easy, though. Raynor was smart, strategic and cunning. She'd tracked him for years, but never had she been able to catch a glimpse of him or his little group of terran renegades and protoss units; he was as slippery as Mengsk if not better, somehow sensing her presence a day away, even with the constant servitude of her spies amongst his men that were now all purged by his new toy.  
  
She was interrupted in her thoughts by one of her cerebrates. It said,  
  
"My queen, we have arrived at the designated location."  
  
"Let me guess, no terran or protoss ship anywhere around. Am I right?" the queen answered in a bored voice.  
  
"On the contrary, my queen. Our scouting units have spotted a battlecruiser right in front of us. They say it looks like the Hyperion!"  
  
Kerrigan was starting to be excited. She was sure that Raynor would be there. She immediately said,  
  
"Get this overlord near the Hyperion's main hatch, now!"  
  
She then hurried off to get her old gun from a box the old overmind had it put in. She glanced at it and smiled. All of this was just an assassination. Only this time, she was the hunter, not just the weapon.  
  
Her slow, bulking overlord took fifteen full minutes to reach the Hyperion's main hatch. With adrenaline pumping through her infested veins, Kerrigan yelled out, "Raynor, get ready to die, you b&?%&!!!"  
  
She mentally ordered one of her mutalisks to breach the hatch's door, but as it sent its glave wurm on it, the door blew up, killing the mutalisk and shaking the overlord that Kerrigan was in.  
  
She said to herself, "Just as I suspected. They were expecting me." Then, the overlord she was in grabbed her with its tentacles and threw her inside the ship. Kerrigan started dashing through the battlecruiser, eyeing with anxiety the spot where the hatch's door had been seconds ago, with an emergency door quickly closing up. What other tricks had Raynor prepared for her? 


	2. Chapter 2 : the ship of deception

Chapter 2: The Ship of Deception  
  
Kerrigan, having just entered the battlecruiser, noticed it wasn't the Hyperion, which the scouting units first thought it was. Knowing the ship well, she started to realize that she'd been set up. Yet, she wouldn't stop. She wanted to kill Raynor so badly that nothing would be able to stand between her and her prey. Her twisted mind even acted out a scenario where Raynor's decapitated head was next to Artanis and Zeratul's, plotted nicely in her incubation chamber as a dazzling ornament in it.  
  
Then, she started to tread carefully inside of the warship, treating every door like a pressure-sensitive bomb. A few times, she heard noises that sounded like embedded machine gun getting out of the walls, but every time she turned to check, no guns were seen. "Perhaps I'm getting paranoid", she thought, wondering if that's what Raynor wanted.  
  
Because of her precautions, it took Kerrigan almost half an hour to reach the center of the ship, at which point she noticed a door that had the Captain's insignia etched upon it. Though it was vaulted in neo-steel, she blew the lock away with her gun's armor-piercing canisters and entered.  
  
The dark queen was in a strange, dimly lit room. Her analytical mind later wandered over the three corners of the room, hinting its triangular architecture. There was also had a door at each wall, including the one she came in from. It seemed empty as she looked around the room with her Zerg heat-sensitive eyes focused on the shadowy corners. A familiar voice called out to her. She was puzzled, since she had not sensed anyone there.  
  
The enigmatic voice echoed in crescendo, "Why, if it isn't Sarah Kerrigan! How are you doin', honey?"  
  
"Don't call me that!" she snarled, "Sarah Kerrigan is dead, impertinent fool, and I am the Queen of blades, leader of the Swarm!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, sure took you a while." Jim Raynor's voice said, nonchalantly.  
  
She replied angrily, "Jim! Where are you? What is this place? I demand that you answer me!!!"  
  
"Calm down. Nothin' is going to happen to you...for now."  
  
"What do you mean, "for now"? Come out and speak to me face to face, you jerk!!!!"  
  
After she made that comment, Kerrigan looked at the door on the far left, which opened. Then, she saw the one she wanted to kill, Jim Raynor, who was coming out of that door and walking slowly towards her. He looked expressionless and calm, as though he was prepared for combat. In addition, he was wearing a thick combat armor, with a gun in his hands. He said,  
  
"What do you want to talk about, sweetheart?" he teased, "And come to think of it, why would the Queen of Blades come in person to investigate an abandoned battlecruiser?"  
  
"Since you asked," her lips twisted a wicked smile, "Jim, I know about this new treatment, I know that you can cure me. In fact, I'd be ready to bet all that I have that you lured me here for that reason. Am I right?"  
  
"Clever as always, Kerrigan. Now, darlin', come with me peacefully, or die." Saying those words, he took his gauss rifle and pointed it at Kerrigan's head. "Now, are you coming or not?" he finally said.  
  
Kerrigan deftly drew her canister rifle, but darted onto the ground when Jim Raynor opened fire. The Zerg Queen then did a gravity-defying somersault into the air, barely touching the ceiling lights. In mid-air, she quickly pointed her rifle towards Raynor's heart and fired. The canister smoked out of the rifle and impacted an armored surface. "I did it!" she thought. But after a few seconds, Jim Raynor started to speak in a fuzzy and repeating robotic, inhuman voice. He said many things quickly, though only this could be heard clearly,  
  
".....WARNING! COOLING SYSTEM OFFLINE! SYSTEM OVERLOAD! EXPLOSION IMMINENT!....WARNING!"  
  
"Oh, shit," Kerrigan cursed shamelessly. Not only did she not kill Jim Raynor, but in addition, the robot impersonating him was going to explode in a matter of seconds. She ran for the door, but too late. The robot exploded, engulfing Kerrigan and the entire room in bright flames. The force of the impact sent Kerrigan flying through the wall of the room and on to the metallic floor of the hallway.  
  
It took hours before a hydralisk (sent by Daggoth) could find her. When Kerrigan was carried back into the ship, her cerebrate was astonished to see her so weakened. He asked her what had happened, and she yelled vehemently in great anger, yet explaining the situation, from the exploding door to the false Raynor. Then, she finished with one comment:  
  
"It took so long for your units to find me that I thought you left me behind."  
  
Daggoth's reply showed not indignation but he sounded like he found it amusing that she made that comment. He said: "My Queen, may I remind you of what happened the last time you thought I had betrayed you?"  
  
"No need to remind me. That was a huge mistake on my part. But what exactly happened? You never told me."  
  
"Why would you wish to know?"  
  
"Because, I want to be sure you aren't on Raynor's side."  
  
"Sorry, my Queen, but I'd wish to keep that for myself."  
  
"If you wish."  
  
Daggoth remembered the events only too well.  
  
Flashback  
  
Daggoth was desperate. The Overmind had been destroyed and Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades and the Overmind's "protégée", was now claiming the leadership of the Swarm.  
  
"This worthless terran does not deserve to lead the Swarm." he said to another cerebrate.  
  
"Daggoth, our leader, the Overmind, is gone," The other cerebrate said "and we are completely useless by ourselves. Unless the Overmind would come back from the dead..."  
  
Daggoth interrupted him, "What if we would make our own Overmind?"  
  
"What are you saying?"  
  
"You heard me. We could make our own Overmind by fusing all of us together. We would gloriously lead the Swarm through a new era. What do you think, Crass?"  
  
"It may work. I am convinced. I shall gather all of us as quickly as I can."  
  
A few weeks later  
  
Crass told Daggoth, "I gathered almost all of us. There are still some of us who'd follow this weak terran."  
  
Daggoth asked, surprised, "Why is that?"  
  
"When I approached them, that fool Araq started to interfere, saying that Kerrigan was the rightful leader of us all, that the Overmind had left her to lead us, and that we would only cause great disaster. That imbecile. He only follows her because he had to protect her while she was in her chrysalis."  
  
"Well, he does have a fair point..."  
  
"How can you say that, Daggoth? Weren't you the one who got me into this in the first place?"  
  
"Yes, but..."  
  
"No buts. I will not let you back out now. And do not expect you'll be able to go back to your weak terran leader. I'll insure myself that you'll be known as a traitor. Farewell, weakling."  
  
Daggoth escaped and left the Kopruru sector, realizing that death awaited him would he even approach Kerrigan or the new Overmind.  
  
Time passes on, until the end of the Brood war  
  
Daggoth, angry and betrayed, had been hidden on a distant, unknown planet, for years, trying to arrive to a conclusion about Kerrigan. Was she worthy of trust or not?  
  
"I cannot make a decision without seeing her leadership. Even if it would be dangerous, I'll go back to her, for now, and see for myself how well she leads the Swarm."  
  
Daggoth went to Char, clearly ready to see what Kerrigan could do. Upon his arrival, though, another cerebrate's voice echoed in his mind, saying,  
  
"I am Araq, second in command to the Queen of the Swarm, Kerrigan. Leave immediately, or see my wrath!"  
  
Daggoth said, "Araq? You probably won't believe it, but I'm Daggoth."  
  
"Daggoth? Impossible! You were one of the rogues who fused into that other Overmind. The fool...His overmind got manipulated by a terran force. Kerrigan stopped both easily, though."  
  
"She vanquished an entire terran force AND the new Overmind?"  
  
"In addition to the protoss."  
  
Daggoth thought, "Astonishing. She's a better leader than I thought."  
  
Araq said, "What were you thinking?"  
  
"Oh, hem, could you please announce to the Queen that one of the first Overmind's best cerebrates has returned to her?"  
  
"Of course. She'll be quite pleased."  
  
Flashback end  
  
Daggoth had been so lost in thought that he didn't hear Kerrigan talking. She said:  
  
"Daggoth? Are you listening?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, yes, my Queen. What were you saying?"  
  
Kerrigan answered, clearly annoyed: "I was asking if you had the blockade I asked for done."  
  
"Yes, of course," Daggoth replied. "We have placed a wall of Mutalisks and guardians everywhere around those planets, plus some ground units as support."  
  
"Good. Raynor won't have reinforcements. Has our spy called yet?"  
  
"No, my Queen. I think he'll do so soon, though."  
  
"I hope he hasn't been discovered...." 


	3. Chapter 3 : the death of a traitor

Chapter 3: The death of a traitor  
  
Worried, Kerrigan said, "Daggoth, we have to contact our spy right away."  
  
Daggoth, who was also worried, answered, "But my Queen, what if he's with Raynor or another one of your enemies?"  
  
"Daggoth, I wouldn't talk to him. I just want to check if he's all right. If he's on a meeting with Raynor, we'll be spying on our enemies anyway."  
  
"Fine, then." Daggoth concluded as Kerrigan took out a small switch with a single button. The microphones were on her lip and in her ear. The whole lot had been taken from one of the infested terran bases.  
  
Kerrigan looked at it and, smiling, turned it on. Almost immediately, she jumped in surprise: It seemed as though Raynor was yelling at someone. He yelled,  
  
"YOU FREAKIN' IDIOT! YOU ALMOST JEOPARDIZED THE WHOLE MISSION! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID THAT THE GOAL OF THE MISSION IS TO SAVE KERRIGAN, NOT TO KILL HER? AND YOU JUST GO AHEAD AND BOMB THE FREAKIN' DOOR! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I KILL YOU!"  
  
A protoss voice then said, "As you wish." Footsteps were heard and gradually faded out.  
  
Another human voice said, "You have to admit that your drone is what came closer to killing Kerrigan..."  
  
Raynor interrupted him: "Yeah, but that wasn't its purpose, damn it! If only Kerrigan hadn't shot the cooling system, there wouldn't have been a problem."  
  
"Unless she'd have shot the fueling system in the head."  
  
"Okay, okay, I get it, Kirger. It's my fault, is it? Why are you talking to me like I did something horrible, anyway?"  
  
"You shouldn't have been this hard with him."  
  
"Look, I know he didn't kill her, but it's not like he didn't try. He actually tried to implant a mini-nuclear explosive inside the drone! Good thing I caught him taking it from the armory. Anyway, we got other things to discuss for now. Have you contacted the Protoss about getting reinforcements?"  
  
He answered: "Yes. There seems to be a zerg blockade around Aiur and Shakuras. The Protoss have told me they have no way of leaving those planets because the zerg, in addition to their blockade, have actually taken control of every starport as well as all interplanetary transport. In other words, our protoss allies are in too much of a tight spot to be of help."  
  
Raynor answered, "Damn. Kerrigan truly is a royal pain in the $$. So now, we have to do one thing that we haven't planned: We have to contact any and all of the remaining UED ships, if they weren't all completely obliterated. If we have to stand tall against the entire Swarm, we'll need all the help we can get. I'll take care of that now. You're dismissed."  
  
Footsteps were heard but didn't fade out like the protoss' footsteps, meaning the one who carried the communicator was moving. After five minutes, the footsteps stopped and the noise of a door opening was heard, followed by the noise of a door closing. The man who Raynor had called Kirger then spoke:  
  
"My Queen, were you listening?"  
  
Kerrigan, on her side of the communications device, answered: "Yes. Who was Raynor yelling at? And why?"  
  
The man's voice answered, "Raynor was yelling at Kalis, the leader of the protoss section of his fleet. It seems that he placed a bomb on the battlecruiser's door even though Raynor gave strict orders not to place anything on the ship to kill you. I think he..."  
  
But he didn't have time to finish his sentence that the noise of a door being kicked open could be heard. Kerrigan heard gunshots followed by a comment by Raynor, "The $$hole". He then followed in a loud and clear voice:  
  
"Kerrigan, I know you can hear me, wherever you are. Listen: I don't want to hurt you, but if you want a war, you'll get it."  
  
Kerrigan turned off the communications device and sat down. She looked devastated at the loss of her informant, tears forming in her eyes with incredible fury barely held back. Daggoth, worried, said:  
  
"Why are you being so emotional, my Queen? It's not like you. Usually, you'd go thrashing around the room, destroying everything you see. But now...."  
  
Kerrigan answered before Daggoth even finished his sentence, "My minions are so numerous that I'm losing my control over them, especially with so few of you cerebrates left to assist me. Not only that, but I'm going insane: I'm hearing voices, voices from the depth of my mind. There's a part of me that wants Raynor to cure me." Kerrigan shuddered at the thought. "And to put the icing on the cake, my only spy left in his army has just been killed. Now, he could just try and sneak up on me and I'd have no way of knowing. I'm losing control, Daggoth, and I'm afraid that I'll take down the Swarm with me. Isn't that enough for you to understand my reactions?"  
  
Daggoth said, "You are facing a great battle, my Queen. Let us fight your enemies. You have your own mind to fight against. Now, please get some rest."  
  
"Ok. I'll follow your advice. Have Araq replace you in managing of the protoss worlds' blockade. I have other plans for you. I want you to try and hunt down Raynor while I am not there. Raynor is going to try to find UED remnants, but he won't succeed, because I eliminated every single one of them, so don't worry about him getting reinforcements. I will be back shortly." Exhausted, Kerrigan left, eager for some sleep.  
  
"I hope so, my Queen," Daggoth said when Kerrigan had left. I hope so..." 


	4. Chapter 4 : old friends, new allies

Chapter 4: Old friends, new allies  
  
Raynor was standing angrily, his arm still suspended in that firing position so that the pistol trigger was still squeezed tightly between his fingers. His uniformed jacket was stained in crimson blood. He looked down at the man who was once his trusted second in command, Lieutenant Kirger, an officer that was now nothing more than a bloody corpse. The traitor was caught contacting the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan.  
  
Jim Raynor's heart pulsed with rage, even after he'd killed him. The thought of emptying the entire clip just to quench his intense fury filled his mind, but then, a concerned marine timely busted into the room. He asked what was going on, a question to which Raynor answered coldly,  
  
"What just happened is that I just killed a traitor. He got what he deserved."  
  
"Sir!" the marine replied, "that's not the way we usually treat traitors. Why did you do that?"  
  
"Private, that's not of your business." He snapped angrily, pausing a moment before he continued. "Anyway, help me carry this b$¬!'s body into the incinerator," he finally said. The private was surprised by the outburst, but nonetheless, he silently did what he was told. They both carried the body to the incinerator and burned it down, with the marine looking quite puzzled. The marine stood there as he watched his commander walking away, banging on the steel walls due to his great anger.  
  
As Jim Raynor walked back to his room, the marine's words rang in his ear: "Sir, that's not the way we usually treat traitors. Why did you do that?" It kind of ticked him off. He didn't answer it at the time. He probably should have, but whatever the case, he knew the reason. He was becoming as sadistic and merciless as his enemies. And the more he thought of it, the more he yearned for this senseless war to end sooner. He sighed and said to himself: "I should be more careful now. I never thought Kirger could be a traitor. One thing's for sure: With today's events, I can't be sure of everyone's loyalty. But one thing the traitor said was true: I've been too harsh with Kalis. He's probably the most loyal of my men. Maybe I should apologize."  
  
Afterwards, Raynor headed towards Kalis' room. Arrived there, he knocked on the door and said:  
  
"Hey man. Sorry about earlier, but you had disregarded a direct order. Can we talk?" Seeing there was no response, he said, "Listen, I've got to speak to you, so please open your freakin' door, you hear me?" The door opened and Kalis gave sign to Raynor to come in. He was a Protoss zealot that was barely taller than Raynor, and his eyes were a deep, dark blue. He was looking at Raynor with both guilt and anger in his eyes. He said,  
  
"If you are going to remove me from command, I understand."  
  
"Not going to happen," Raynor replied, "since you're the most trustworthy man...no, Protoss, I've got," he corrected. "More than I can say for Kirger. I caught him contacting the zerg. In fact, I'm sure he told Kerrigan about the new treatment."  
  
Kalis answered, unable to believe it, "Are you serious?" Raynor nodded. Kalis roared in a psionic crescendo, "The treacherous fiend. Where is he now?" his protoss energy blades materialized in front of the startled Raynor who almost reached for his pistol.  
  
Perturbed, yet impressed, the shocked commander quickly said, "Dead. Shot him in the face when he looked surprised to see me as he was communicating with Kerrigan."  
  
"I see." Kalis had a look of utmost disgust in his eyes. "Who will replace him?"  
  
"I don't know. And I have to do an announcement to the crew right now. Are you coming?"  
  
"Give me a few minutes."  
  
After Kalis made his preparations, he and Raynor headed towards the command room. When they arrived, Raynor took a radio and turned it on, after which he announced Kirger's treachery and death to his whole army. He also said that those wanting to become leader of the terran section of the army would have to formally announce it to Raynor in the next two days. When he finished his announcement, he said to Kalis,  
  
"I need to talk strategy with you. You got a while?"  
  
"Yes, of course. What do you need to talk about?"  
  
"Well, do you have an idea for finding reinforcements? And don't tell me to go to Aiur and Shakuras to see your protoss pals. The zerg have got the protoss pinned down in that sector."  
  
"How about Zeratul?"  
  
"He's nowhere to be found."  
  
"And what about the Terran Dominion?"  
  
"If we try to contact Mengsk, he's dead. Kerrigan doesn't go after him because he doesn't know about the new treatment, but if we contact him, he's busted. Maybe if he communicated with us, it would work. He does have an IJS (Interception Jamming System), so Kerrigan wouldn't hear a thing if she were to intercept the communication. Anyway, other ideas?"  
  
"The UED, maybe."  
  
"That's what Kerrigan thinks I will do. But I know that they're all reduced to cinders, so I won't look for them."  
  
"And the..."  
  
He was interrupted by a loud beep, which was announcing an incoming transmission. Then a familiar voice said,  
  
"Hello, Jim. It's been a while." Afterwards, Arcturus Mengsk appeared on the screens near the center of the room. Raynor said:  
  
"Mengsk? How are you doing? Is your IJS functioning?"  
  
"My IJS?" Mengsk said in a surprised voice. "Yes. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because you'd be dead if it weren't."  
  
"Mmm. Seems something heavy is going on here. Looks like the rumors were true. I was well inspired to call you. Please brief me in on the situation."  
  
Raynor, still surprised, said, "Okay. Well, we discovered a treatment that can return infested terrans to their older selves. Only, for it to work, a person with reminiscence of the infested person as a terran has to be present. Anyway, it's long to explain. By the way, is it true that Kerrigan erased your memories of her older self, just in case?"  
  
"I don't know what memories you are talking about. And what do you mean by older self?"  
  
"Shit. Then she did. She's getting really dangerous. Anyway, forget about it. Now, to continue with what I was saying, we discovered that treatment, and I'm the only one with memories of Kerrigan as a terran. And if we cure her, the main zerg leader will be out of the way. But to do so, we'll need help from the protoss. Now where were Kirger's maps...ah, there they are." He then clicked on a button and holograms representing Aiur and Shakuras appeared in the center of the room. They were completely surrounded by red dots. He then said: "The red dots represent the zerg blockade which was placed around the protoss home worlds of Aiur and Shakuras recently. If we are to get help from the protoss, we'll need to obliterate that blockade. For that, I'll need all the ships you've got."  
  
"I see." Mengsk answered. "But my fleet won't be able to destroy that many zerg air units. If only my air units had the power of siege tanks, it'd be another story, but..."  
  
"Sir. I have an idea!" Kalis said. "Let's use your dropships!"  
  
"What?" Mengsk and Raynor said together, and Raynor continued, "Are you nuts, Kalis? They don't even have weapons! They'll be slaughtered!"  
  
"I don't think you understand my point." Kalis said. "If we put two siege tanks in siege mode in each, with only the cannons sticking out of the cargo doors..."  
  
Mengsk said, "Why, young protoss, you are truly a master strategist...well, for a protoss anyway. I think it'd work rather well. We should start to adapt our dropships right away, because we'll need to hermetically close the dropships for that plan to work. We don't want our siege tanks sucked in space, do we?"  
  
Raynor said, "I agree. Let's do the assault on the blockade in three days. I'll take Shakuras and you'll take Aiur, okay?"  
  
Mengsk answered, laughing, "Calm down, Jim. You're too nervous." He then returned to a serious tone. "If we are to succeed, we'll need all our units to open fire at the same time. We absolutely need the element of surprise. We'll open fire exactly at 1400 hours in three days around Aiur and I advise you to do the same for Shakuras. By the way, don't forget ground units to take back any building the zerg would have conquered."  
  
Raynor concluded, "We have an agreement. See ya, Mengsk." He turned off the screen, turned towards Kalis and said: "Go and warn all troops under your command to prepare for battle, and especially your air units. I'll warn the others." He headed back towards his office with a huge battle ahead of him.  
  
His preparations were nothing special, other than the fact that his new terran section leader was Lieutenant Dan Kealer, a very violent firebat with very direct strategies. He was enthusiastic at becoming such a highly ranked officer, but he made it clear that he'd always hang out with "the boys", as he called the other subordinates.  
  
It seemed like only a second had passed since the discussion with Mengsk when it was the time of the battle. Raynor was now in the Hyperion, at 1359 hours, ready to give the order. Little did he know about the huge repercussions this battle would have on the entire galaxy... 


	5. Chapter 5 : The battle for the protoss

Chapter 5: the battle for the protoss  
  
Raynor was looking at the time, counting the seconds until the time of the battle. All of his ships and his arranged dropship-siege tank hybrids looked ready. 20 seconds before 1400 hours, he said,  
  
"Ok, boys and girls. All of you open fire at my signal."  
  
Constant radio traffic was ringing in Raynor's ears, but he didn't care, as the Hyperion was now locking on to a group of guardians, yamato gun ready.  
  
10 seconds. "This'd better work." a wraith pilot said. 9 seconds. "All air units have a lock on the enemy." That was Dan Kealer, inside his own battlecruiser. 8 seconds. Raynor said. "To all the arranged dropships' pilots." 7 seconds. "Open throttle towards the planet at full speed at my signal to counteract the shots' recoil." 6 seconds. 5...4...3...2...1.... 1400 hours. Raynor yelled:  
  
"OPEN FIRE! FIRE AT WILL!"  
  
The Hyperion opened fire towards the enemy guardian group in front of it, obliterating it with its Yamato gun. With a little smile, Raynor looked outside to see how the rest of his crew was faring.  
  
The arranged dropships were doing great, their blasts simply tearing the zerg to pieces. The wraiths and valkyries were lethal as well, the mutalisks' wings simply desintegrating at the contact of spread missiles, as the twin ones easily destroyed their bodies. 75% of the blockade was destroyed and Raynor's raiders were destroying all that was left, with the zerg too taken by surprise to do a serious counterattack. Raynor could hear lots of comments like "This is going to be easy" on his radio. Raynor could only agree until he saw what was coming out of the planet at lightning speed.  
  
Scourges, in packs of hundreds, even thousands. Raynor quickly ordered all unoccupied units to take them down. Valkyries went to meet them head on, destroying most of them in bloody explosions with their halo spread missiles. But around fifty of them sneaked past and headed towards the Hyperion. The crew aboard was panicking, desperately trying to shoot them, but they only managed to destroy a dozen, while around twenty managed to take a run towards the wraiths, destroying most of them in explosions of blood and metal. Raynor knew he was dead. He closed his eyes, waiting for the scourges to hit his ship, but anti-matter missiles came out of nowhere and obliterated the scourges. Raynor turned around to see what happened.  
  
A squadron made of corsairs and scouts was heading towards them, destroying all the zerg in its way. From one of them came a communication. The protoss speaking was none other than Zeratul:  
  
"En taro Adun, Raynor. I heard that you were going to attack that blockade, so I thought I could be of help. Are you going to take care of Aiur's blockade afterwards?"  
  
"No." Raynor answered. "Mengsk is doing so right now. I think he's nuts. He's risking to be killed by Kerrigan just to attack a blockade himself. Though it IS true that if my new second in command would have leaded the attack, it probably would have been a disaster. He's way too reckless, but he's one HELL of a fighter."  
  
"Talking about recklessness," Zeratul said in a low voice, "I heard you have young Kalis leading the protoss units of your army. Never have I seen such a reckless being among us protoss. I strongly advise you to supervise him very closely, because if ever he would act without thinking as he usually does, the consequences could be disastrous..."  
  
"Sir!" Lieutenant Kealer interrupted Zeratul. "The entire Zerg blockade is now obliterated. Nothin's left of 'em."  
  
"Good." Raynor answered. He then took his radio and said: "To all non- modified dropships! Head towards the surface of the planet immediately. All wraiths must immediately escort them. I repeat! All non-modified dropships must head towards the planet and all wraiths must escort them." He then turned off his radio and said to the crew,  
  
"Ok, guys. Let's go towards the planet as well. Ready my vulture bike!"  
  
When Raynor arrived on the surface of the planet, he had the Hyperion's cargo doors opened and zoomed out of them with his vulture. He could then see the situation on land.  
  
Protoss units were already doing a serious attack, as Zeratul had taken his dark templar to fight the zerg on land. But unfortunately, the zerg weren't taken by surprise by this assault. It wasn't rare to see a dark templar die in a cloud of smoke, mainly because of the presence of overlords above them. Zeratul said,  
  
"Scouts! Attack the overlords!"  
  
The scouts moved in while the overlords, completely unarmed, tried to run away from the fearsome protoss ships. Unfortunately for them, the scouts were too quick and the overlords were quickly blown away by the protoss' anti-matter missiles.  
  
Raynor's raiders attacked the zerg head on, with Kealer in the front line, Raynor and Kalis by his side.  
  
"YEEE-HAAWWW" Kealer said, after burning a nearby hydralisk's face, "Let's barbecue!" He then burned a zergling to a crisp, a sadistic look upon his face. Kalis, in his zealot uniform, sliced two zerglings' heads in half. He had a sadistic look upon his face. He definitely liked killing the zerg.  
  
Meanwhile, Raynor, in his vulture, stared in awe as an ultralisk headed straight towards him. He immediately started running away from that deadly behemoth, but it continued tailing him. Raynor then had an idea. He planted a spider mine, which blew right under the Ultralisk's belly, killing it instantly. Satisfied of his victory over that ultralisk, he ran over a couple of zerglings. He then used them as a ramp to go straight up in the air towards a guardian which was aiming at Kealer, landing a spider mine right on the guardian's head, gruesomely destroying it in a huge explosion. After landing back on the ground, Raynor then saw something that made him rejoice.  
  
An entire army of zealots and dragoons came to attack the zerg. The zealots rushed to join the battle and engaged them in a shocking rear assault while the spider-looking dragoons crawled in, casting explosive energy over the zerg randomly, hidden safely behind the zealots. The swarm started running purposelessly around in panic, and most of them were easily destroyed. After the battle, a high templar went to meet Raynor. He said,  
  
"En Taro Adun, terran. I am very pleased with the help you have given us. But why did you help us? And also, are my eyes betraying me, or are there protoss warriors among you?"  
  
"Your eyes aren't betraying you." Kalis said. "There are a few of us who have joined this terran's army. He has helped us protoss very much in the past. His name's Jim Raynor."  
  
"You're Jim Raynor?" The high templar said, looking at Raynor, surprised. "I have been spoken highly of you by many. Please consider you and your army as our guests. Of course, we could help you in any way we could."  
  
"Funny you say that." Raynor said. "Cause that's exactly what I want. You see, we..."  
  
But he was interrupted by a communication by Mengsk, "Jim? Are you there?"  
  
Raynor answered, "Yeah. I'm here. What's up?"  
  
"Well..." Mengsk was interrupted by a huge explosion. He continued, "We're in a lot of trouble here. We easily took out the blockade but they had a huge ground army and they ambushed my men. We need reinforcements right now!"  
  
The bearded commander was smiling wryly. Why? No. I could let him fry, like he had let Kerrigan to the Zerg. He mused to himself, a big grin on his face. He blinked and paused for a moment, and slowly, his grin began to fade. He blinked again. "I'm no turncoat.", he muttered inwardly. "Ok." Raynor answered to the com-link. He turned towards Kalis and said, "Kalis! Go tell every one of your units to get ready to go to Aiur. Since we took this side of the interplanetary gate, it shouldn't be a problem to get there. Kealer, go tell your guys to prepare as well."  
  
"Yes, sir." Kalis and Kealer answered before quickly leaving.  
  
"We'll help you." The high templar said. "We want to save our homeland." In a resolute voice that indicated his decision, he sent a powerful psionic message, "KHALAI! GATHER."  
  
"And don't think you'll get rid of me!" Zeratul said. "I care about my ancient homeland as well. Besides, I want to see how Artanis is doing as leader of the Protoss." He added, and then he too reached out. "DARK BRETHRENS, GATHER!"  
  
"All right then, we'll take 'em down together." The relented Raynor finally uttered, and then he simply rode his vulture into the ramp of a dropship that timely landed, having honed into his pickup beacon. The docking claps retracted as the dropship gracefully maneuvered into the air while the Protoss looked on. Soon, corsairs, shuttles and even terran dropships landed together on the surface.  
  
Raynor alighted from his bike and sauntered to a window by the dropship's hull. He looked through it. Seeing thousands of tiny dots flocking towards the nearest space-craft, he said to himself. "This might work – after all." His face plastered on the dropship window, from an external view, grew further and further away as the ship grew smaller and smaller as well. It was until the dropship was reduced to a dot-like firefly in vertical flight. The dot exited the planet and flew into the fleet of battlecruisers in standard orbital formation. Hence, a battlecruiser broke from formation and simply swallowed the dot.  
  
A minute later, hundreds of firefly-like dots exited from the planet as well. And then the entire battlecruiser fleet mobilized and intercepted them anxiously.  
  
"Sir!" Kalis and Kealer said, having just arrived. Kalis continued, "All of my units are ready for departure." Kealer then said: "Same here."  
  
Raynor then said, "Alright, then. Let's go!" After which, the space cruisers stayed in standby for a full-scale fleet hyperspace jump. 


	6. Chapter 6 : a hard return to reality

Chapter 6: A hard return to reality  
  
It had been three days since Kerrigan had left her loyal cerebrates in charge of the Swarm. Raynor and Mengsk seemed to have joined forces, each of them attacking one of Kerrigan's blockades. Araq, the one left to organize the blockades, was starting to panic. Shakuras had already fallen back to the protoss, and Aiur was barely standing tall against Mengsk's huge army. But the worst had yet to come for the zerg.  
  
Yet Kerrigan didn't know any of this, as she was attempting to rest, following Daggoth's advise, though she hadn't gotten much rest. Another presence in her was constantly speaking to her, saying things like "You should go back where you belong." constantly keeping her awake, but never had it taken any visible form, until then.  
  
Noticing the other presence seemed to have left, Kerrigan attempted to sleep, which would be the best way to forget about her troubles. But as she fell asleep, instead of sleeping, she felt transported. "Is this a dream?" She thought, as she was transported to the very bottom of her mind. In that place, she was surrounded by darkness; A dark light, which seemed to hide something. Then, the voice Kerrigan dreaded to hear came to her ears, saying,  
  
"Who are you, Kerrigan?"  
  
"Me? I am Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades and the leader of the Swarm" Kerrigan said proudly.  
  
The voice answered, laughing, "In other words, a mindless warlord with no real purpose other than destruction. No, no. That's not who you are."  
  
"Who am I, then?" Kerrigan answered, becoming more and more annoyed.  
  
"You're...me." The voice said. Then out of the darkness came a human being, which Kerrigan recognized as her older self. Kerrigan said, frightened,  
  
"Wh-What the?"  
  
"I am your true self, your human conscience and feelings. Look at yourself, Kerrigan, at the person that you really are!" The voice said. Then, a bright flash appeared and illuminated Kerrigan's entire mind. Now, the dark light had gone, revealing the walls of Kerrigan's mind, with memories of her older self all over them. From memories of her training to the fatidic moment of her capture, she could see everything. Never had she been so shocked in her entire life. She said, frightened:  
  
"Wha-what are those memories? I never saw them before."  
  
"Well" the voice said "the overmind has sealed your true memories and has replaced them by lies. Per example, how do you remember Jim Raynor?"  
  
"As someone who shot me in the back by leaving me to the zerg." Kerrigan answered, bitterly.  
  
"Wrong. Raynor didn't want to leave you out there willingly. On the contrary, he wanted to go, but Mengsk didn't allow him to. All of those memories that you had of your former comrades were false. But the ones you see here are true. Now stay here and look at these memories until you truly understand yourself."  
  
Kerrigan looked in alarm at all her old memories and said: "But this is going to take a lifetime!"  
  
"Don't worry. It won't take you long." The other presence said, before leaving Kerrigan, who was now looking at her memories. There were so many memories that it was like reading all the books of a library. But the more she saw, the more she understood who she was. As she went on, she felt herself betrayed: The Overmind had hidden so much from her! But the other presence had been right: It took her mere hours to see it all. When she finished, the other presence came back, asking again the fatidic question, "Who are you, Kerrigan?"  
  
"I am Sarah Kerrigan, terran ghost formerly under the command of Arcturus Mengsk. But now, I have an infested body." She finished in a bitter voice.  
  
The other presence then said: "If you want to completely become yourself again, you know what to do..."  
  
"I think so..." Kerrigan answered.  
  
"Then farewell, Kerrigan." The other presence said, smirking, before leaving for good.  
  
Kerrigan then awoke. She got up and started thinking. If she would become herself again, she would need Raynor's treatment. But if she went to him directly, he could think of it as a trap. Trying to find a solution to this situation was giving her a headache. Araq, who communicated with her telepathically, interrupted her in her thoughts,  
  
"My Queen! I have sour news. The planets of Aiur and Shakuras have been taken back by the Protoss. Also, from what I understood, Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk were part of the group who destroyed the blockades. Come quickly!"  
  
Kerrigan thought that she'd better act as usual for her cerebrates not to suspect her. She then hurried off, quickly reaching the command room of the hive, where Daggoth and Araq were waiting for her. Daggoth said, sounding tense,  
  
"I am sorry to interrupt your sleep, my Queen, but the situation is extremely desperate. Not only have the blockades fallen, but also, when we tried to reinforce the blockades, we sent most of the rest of our forces to their deaths. We are unsure of what to do. What are your orders?"  
  
Kerrigan, who was barely containing herself from going ahead and killing both cerebrates, answered, "Start rebuilding the defenses of the main hives of that sector, but order the broods not to engage the terrans. Raynor's going to be on the offensive now, so we have to be ready for him. Order the hives of this base to send reinforcements to that sector, as well. Now if you'll excuse me..."  
  
"My Queen, if I may..." Daggoth said, "Have you finally decided what you would do?"  
  
"Yes, Daggoth. I have." Kerrigan answered, clearly annoyed.  
  
"What is it, then?" Araq asked.  
  
"This is a stupid question. What, in your opinion, would be my decision if I would be here speaking to you?" Kerrigan said, seeming angry, before quickly leaving.  
  
"She seems to be back to normal." Araq said to Daggoth after Kerrigan had left.  
  
Daggoth answered, "Wait and see, Araq. I have a bad feeling about this..."  
  
Back in her room, Kerrigan exhaled deeply. During the last few seconds of the meeting, she was so angry she almost planted her claws in her cerebrates. "I have to calm down" she said to herself. "If I kill them now, it'll be hard to escape. I have to think of a plan..." 


	7. Chapter 7 : Trouble's brewing

Chapter 7  
  
Raynor was standing on the burned earth of Aiur. Remnants of the battle, from grossly mutilated bodies to carapace fragments, were scattered everywhere. The battle there had been brutal. Raynor's raiders, alongside the main protoss force, had won it, but the casualties had been numerous. Raynor couldn't help feeling sorry for the friends and family of those who died on that day.  
  
Raynor jumped in surprise, as Artanis and Zeratul were having an argument, with Artanis particularly angry, psionically yelling so loud at Zeratul that Raynor was sure that even Kerrigan could probably hear him. Seemingly, Zeratul didn't really approve Artanis' rise to power after the deaths of Aldaris and Fenix.  
  
Lieutenant Kealer then approached Raynor, seeming not worried at all. He said,  
  
"We showed those f#%#% $$holes who's boss here. Where do we go next?"  
  
Raynor answered, "Don't know. By the way, what do you think about the strategy the zerg used?"  
  
Kealer said, "Too spread out to be Kerrigan. She makes 'em fight in groups."  
  
"I thought so as well." Kalis said, having just arrived. "Who do you think lead the assault if it wasn't Kerrigan?"  
  
Raynor answered, "Probably a cerebrate. But that's not what worries me most. It's to think what Kerrigan was doing if she wasn't organizing her defense."  
  
"Maybe", Kalis said, "she's out there preparing a major assault. We should stay on our guard."  
  
Raynor said, "Ok then. Kalis, send some of our men to reinforce the protoss' defense perimeter."  
  
"Alright." Kalis said. He then hurried off.  
  
Kealer said, "Sir, by the way, if we're going after Kerrigan, we should send someone to investigate the weak spots of the main zerg base of Char. I propose sending some ghosts...."  
  
"Too risky." Raynor said. "The zerg have an incredible ground defence. If the ghosts are spotted, and there's a good chance they will, they're dead. You're not to send anyone to Char or anywhere near it, understand?"  
  
"Can I have a satcom done?"  
  
"If you wish."  
  
"Thank you, sir." Kealer said then left.  
  
An hour later, Lieutenant Kealer headed towards Raynor happily. He was holding a piece of paper. Raynor then said:  
  
"Heh, Kealer. Why are you in such a good mood?  
  
Kealer answered, "Sir! I've had a satcom done on the zerg base. Here it is." He then handed Raynor the piece of paper he was holding. Raynor looked at it and Kealer said: "Look here, sir..." Kealer said, pointing at a small position at the south end of the base "...and you'll see there isn't any anti- air defence that can discover cloaked units. Cloaked wraiths could infiltrate there easily."  
  
"But wraiths can't carry more than one unit. And after that weak point lies an entire anti-air arsenal, though there isn't a lot of anti-ground defense."  
  
"If only our dropships could cloak, they could reach that weak point and unload a few units for them to continue going in the base."  
  
"But our dropships are too big to install cloaking mechanisms on them. What if we'd use arbiters? They're a heck of a lot smaller and we could get more units there thanks to their recall abilities."  
  
"Great idea, sir."  
  
"I'll go ask Artanis if he can lend me some right now. You're dismissed."  
  
Raynor then walked towards Artanis, who still seemed in a bad mood from his argument with Zeratul. Seeing Raynor, Artanis said, in a seemingly happy voice,  
  
"En taro Adun, Raynor. Thank you for your great help. By the way, how is Arcturus Mengsk? I heard he has a broken back."  
  
Raynor answered, "Damn right he has. A zerg spine came through the armor of his battlecruiser and basically broke his back in half. It's not his lucky day. He's in the hospital wing of our encampment. He should be fine, though."  
  
"I am glad to hear that."  
  
"Oh, by the way, I suppose you've heard about the current situation with Kerrigan and my troops."  
  
"Yes. From what I heard, your medics created a treatment that could restore infested persons back to their older selves. And Kerrigan's going after you for that. Correct?"  
  
"That's exactly it. Except right now, since it works with psionic energy, we do not have the resources to cure Kerrigan, who's probably one of the beings with the most resistance to psionic energy in the whole galaxy."  
  
"You want to cure Kerrigan?"  
  
"Yup. If we do, slaughtering the rest of those annoying zerg will be a lot easier, cause their leader won't be there to help. Anyway, I'd like to ask you two favors. First, can we count on you to give us access to all protoss technology if needed?"  
  
"Yes. What else do you want?"  
  
"Could you lend me a few arbiters, like two or three?"  
  
"Arbiters? Of course. Can I ask you why?"  
  
"They'll be a great help to extract Kerrigan from Char. That's all I'll tell you."  
  
"Alright. I'll have them sent to you within an hour."  
  
"Thanks, Artanis."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
"Maybe this isn't going to be too long after all..." Raynor thought, heading back towards his encampment.  
  
POV switch: back to Kerrigan  
  
Four days later  
  
Four days after becoming herself again, Kerrigan was starting to lose patience. She desperately wanted to leave, but every time she thought she was alone, a Hydralisk would be right behind her or a cerebrate would ask her for advice. She intentionnaly left a weak point at the south of her base, desperately hoping that Raynor would discover it, but up to date, it had been to no avail, as never did a terran or protoss force use that weakness to sneak in the base. She was walking around the hive since a few hours and she finally decided to take action.  
  
"I've got to make it out of here, and it looks like I'll have to do so myself." She then cloaked herself and headed towards the weak point she had herself created.  
  
"This is it." She thought to herself. "It's all or nothing..." 


	8. Chapter 8 : the escape

Chapter 8: The escape  
  
Raynor was doing a checkup on all the ships and units on this assignment. They'd all have to be perfectly ready and perfect in their execution. It was four days ago that Raynor had started planning this operation and it had to succeed. It just had to. He continued his checkup.  
  
The artificial cloaking device was installed on the arbiter that would carry them and the escort (formed of three elite wraiths) were both as ready as they could be. Raynor checked on the ground units he'd have with him. Three ghosts were silently getting ready, not showing any emotion, like any good ghost. Three dark templars were looking nervous in their corner, psi blades ready. Kalis was impeccably ready and was practicing silent running, though he was already good at it. Raynor then looked at his own equipment. It was ready all right. With a grin, he checked his plan over in his head. Kealer, along with a major strike force provided by Mengsk (who still had a broken back), would occupy the zerg on the west section of the base, while Raynor and the rest of the extraction crew would go to the south of the base, sneaking past the main defenses thanks to the weak point noticed on the satcom. They'd have four hours before the cloaking mechanisms on Raynor and Kalis's suits would fail. These four hours would be used to find and extract Kerrigan. Raynor didn't know how he'd carry her back to his base, but he'd at least try.  
  
Kalis walked towards him and said, with an excited and nervous tone to his voice, "We are all ready for departure."  
  
As Raynor silently walked towards the arbiter to be recalled later, he swore that after that mission would be completed, he'd retire from the military. To do what, he had no idea, though.  
  
"This is it, Kerrigan. It's the final battle," He thought.  
  
Kerrigan was sneaking towards the south end of the base, but she didn't use the cloaking, mainly because she'd need it to go through her main defenses and out of the base. When she arrived at the weak point, she activated her cloaking, disappearing from view, and started her escape. Mutalisks, guardians and scourges were over her, and Hydralisks were around her, but she managed it and sneaked past the defences in a couple of hours. When she arrived at the point between the defense lines, something suddenly happened. Explosions were heard in the distance and the zerg suddenly turned their attention to the western end of the base, sending most units and all overlords to that location. Kerrigan smiled. She couldn't have hoped for a better timing. She wondered if Jim Raynor was part of that attack, but quickly dismissed that thought, knowing he wouldn't attack head on. Before she knew it, she heard a faint machine sound. She focused her psionic powers on her sight to locate cloaked units and was stunned by what she saw.  
  
A cloaked arbiter, escorted by three wraiths, was placing itself atop an empty position. After it arrived there, it recalled several terran and protoss units, including Jim Raynor himself. Kerrigan suddenly felt happy. She finally had the best possibility for escaping right in front of her. Or so she thought.  
  
Kerrigan felt a strange feeling for wanting to destroy everything. Her zerg instincts were still very much present in her mind, and they were trying to take over again. Kerrigan, after many hard efforts, managed to control herself again, though Raynor and his crew were already in the base. With Raynor away, Kerrigan had to think quickly. How could she leave? She then noticed that the arbiter and the wraiths had landed. She quickly ran towards a wraith, pulled the pilot out and knocked him out silently before he could speak. She then embarked on the wraith.  
  
Knowing the basics on how to pilot a wraith, she cloaked the wraith and escaped her base, imagining the reaction of her cerebrates when they would discover of her escape. She then thought about how she could contact Raynor. She preferred not to think about it now, as her zerg instincts were surging again at the thought of that man. "Anyway, I'm safe for now," she said to herself. But she was sure she had forgotten a small detail, not knowing exactly what. A cloaked wraith's pilot, who was following her, took his radio and turned it on... 


	9. Chapter 9 : the beggining of the end

Chapter 9: The Beginning of the End  
  
Jim Raynor walked over the blue-purple slimy wet creep. Sneaking past its prodding sunken colonies as carefully as he could with his state-of-the-art fashioned ZPI marine armor, he was somehow undetectable. The ZPI armor, which stood for Zerg Pheromone Inducing armor, was a scent camouflage that registered him as a zerg creature. But, as resourceful as the combination of tech and chemistry ingenuity could be, it was unfortunate however that there weren't many available, seriously limiting the size of the force which could infiltrate the base. When Raynor was deep in the Zerg hive, his com-link vibrated as someone told him through the communicator,  
  
"Sir! This is pilot GS-3. Get out of there! Kerrigan ain't in the base. She KO'ed my colleague pilot GS-1 and stole his ship. She seems to be headed towards Arenil. I'm going after her in cloak. Over and out."  
  
"Damn it," Raynor swore under his breath. He switched on the wide-band frequency and commanded, "Boys, get outta there, now!"  
  
Raynor quickly exited the hive and capered to the opened creep field. Somehow, his footsteps were slowed. He looked down and eyed disbelieving at creep. It was sprouting out tiny tentacles, trying to penetrate his leg armor. "What the hell?" he muttered, grabbing his handgun into firing position and locking on with an audible click. He was about to shoot, until he realized that it was harmless. Oddly enough, he prompted himself to study it. The tentacles' needles oozed yellowish goo on his titanium shoes. It wasn't acid, because if it was...he wouldn't be walking now.  
  
As he thought harder for a minute or two, it finally hit him; the creep was nurturing him. The yellowish substance was some kind of zerg protein. The creep thought of him as a zerg. It was creepy all right.  
  
The spooky part was how the hell he figured it out in the first place. He didn't remember himself being a scientist, but then -- here now. He was grasping at the zerg nutrient-dispensing tentacles. Thinking about his men, he quickly com-linked and instructed them to stay calm and continue on their exit.  
  
After reaching a safe distance from the zerg base, he and his men grouped together. Raynor called the arbiter pilot and said,  
  
"Commander Raynor here, tell Artanis that Kerrigan's heading towards Arenil and in the meantime, beam us out of here, will you?" he added.  
  
"Understood, Mr. Raynor." The arbiter pilot answered, as Raynor and his men disappeared into the swirling blue recall energy anomaly.  
  
Raynor arrived back at the place he first arrived in the base. Then, he radioed Kealer.  
  
"Immediate evac, Lieutenant! Kerrigan's going towards Arenil. Go there now!"  
  
"Arenil? Kerrigan?" Kealer said, surprised. "Yes, sir!"  
  
They reached Arenil half an hour later, after ghost ship (GS) 2's pilot carried the pilot of ghost ship 1 inside his own ship and left towards Arenil. When Raynor arrived on the lush green planet, he glimpsed a couple of his wraiths as well as the pilot of GS-3, who was trying to stand up. He said,  
  
"OOOh ouuuchh "  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"Ohho oosh ..s-s-she kicked me uhh"  
  
"What do you mean? Where'd she kick you?"  
  
"Oooh, y....you don't want to know, sir..."  
  
Raynor's eyes widened, then he blinked. "....I... see...," he replied with a large grin on his face 'my kind of girl' murmured with a soft chuckle, then he shook himself. "Christ! Snap out of it!" He looked up again and said, "GS-3. Did ya see where she went?"  
  
"I-I c-coo-ould uuuh have s-sworn s-hhe went S-Sout--th, sir."  
  
"err...good work. Zero Three... Get back to base and have the medics see...the...err...the point of impact."  
  
"WWWHATTT??????"  
  
Raynor then quickly recalibrated his wristband. "Kealer, ETA?"  
  
"Two hours, sir."  
  
"Good. Kealer! Prep up the guys. We are goin' Kerrigan hunting."  
  
In the middle of a beautiful forest, Kalis was angry. If it was only his call, he'd incinerate Arenil with at least ten thousand terran Nukes, just to insure Kerrigan's death. But he had orders, strict ones, not to kill her. "Why do I always have to obey? I hate this..." He thought as he brought down a large tree with his energy blades, sending it timbering inches away for Jim Raynor. He was interrupted in his thoughts by the clearly annoyed terran Commander, who approached him and said, "Listen, Kalis. I know you hate Kerrigan, but if you try to kill her, I'll kill you myself. Understood?"  
  
"Yes." Kalis said bitterly.  
  
"Good. Be ready at 2000 hours, because you and I will be in the search party."  
  
"Why wait until then?"  
  
"So Kealer and the rest of the crew can arrive and cover our asses -- we'd better be ready, just in case Kerrigan's luring us into a trap. Come right now, I'll brief the plan to you on the way."  
  
Raynor led Kalis to a quickly built camp, barely made up of a few tents. Kalis followed Raynor into a medium-sized tent. When he was in, he saw the rest of the extraction crew who seemed to deftly sprint into a ritual salute. Raynor returned it and went to the center of the tent and started the briefing:  
  
"Ok, guys. Here's the situation: Kerrigan is on this planet, and I've got solid info that she's in the southern woods – for some reasons. We have to find her, and use any non-lethal ways to bring her back to our main base. Any questions?"  
  
A ghost spoke up, "Do we have to expect a zerg assault?"  
  
Raynor answered, "A trap? Maybe. We gotta be ready for anything. I don't know why she left her base, but there's a good chance she's got a surprise attack force somewhere on this planet, so stay on your guard."  
  
Another ghost asked, "Any reinforcements?"  
  
Raynor answered, "Yes and no. Our main assault force will join us shortly, but they will only stay behind as backup just in case there would be a zerg offensive. For the mission, we're on our own."  
  
The first ghost spoke again, "What weaponry will we have available?"  
  
Raynor said, "When our main force will arrive, you'll be able to get tranquilizer darts, to use on Kerrigan, and carapace-piercing canister rifle bullets for any other threats."  
  
A dark templar spoke, "You mentioned that we would have to use non-lethal ways to bring her back. Can we hurt her enough for her to fall unconscious?"  
  
"Though it is not preferable, you can do so." Raynor said, particularly disapproving that solution.  
  
Kalis was a bit happier than before. Albeit he couldn't kill Kerrigan, at least making her suffer a grievous concussion or perhaps comatose her, either one would suffice...for now. He didn't hear the rest of the meeting as he was thinking up possible tortures for Kerrigan and when he was listening again, it was only to hear Raynor say, "Be ready for departure at 2000 hours. You're dismissed."  
  
When Kalis left after the meeting, he did a little jog around the quickly built camp, during which he thought about how he was going to act. As he was about to do his last round, he saw a small gathering outside the compound. There were terrans who seemed to be watching the sky and waving upwards, then it dawned on him -- the main force had arrived. A large spacecraft, approximately half the length of a battlecruiser, landed on the grassy landing field that was a forest opening. Immediately, he went to the ordinary pig-iron colored cargo ship and picked up his life-saving Protoss plasma shield battle armor from a special radiation containment box, which he had left behind because of the loud static noise it constantly triggers on dropship radiation monitors. He put them on and headed in front of the tent in which the briefing had been done. He didn't want to be late. To his surprise, the ghosts of the extraction crew were already there, waiting. One of the ghosts asked him,  
  
"He he... Since you're a protoss, I can't read your mind, but since you're already there, I suppose you want to get Kerrigan out of commission as soon as possible. Right?"  
  
Kalis answered, clearly annoyed, "What if I do?"  
  
The ghost answered, "Then you're like us. I heard you want to kill her. Can you tell us why?"  
  
Kalis cast an angry look at the ghost. If only that man would have realized what he had asked, before a solid Protoss bare knuckle connected with his face.  
  
Flashback  
  
"We need those reinforcements, Kalis!" A voice had yelled in Kalis' mind.  
  
It was a big battle. Fenix was under heavy assault from zerg units, and so was general Duke. But the former was most important to Kalis, as he and a group of zealots under his command were heading to reinforce Fenix's base.  
  
"I'm going as fast as I can! Try to hold for a few more minutes!" Kalis answered to the voice, which belonged to Fenix.  
  
"I'm trying!" Fenix replied. "But those zerg are outnumbering us! We need your help now!"  
  
Kalis continued to run towards Fenix's base, his men close behind. Then a zerg aerial unit flew above him. He ignored it and continued to run. But seconds later, he and his men were trapped in some sort of gooey web. The aerial unit in question was a zerg queen.  
  
"Curse those wretched things!" Kalis said, trying to free himself from the web, which ensnared him tightly, preventing any movement. Unfortunately, the web was too strong to be cut. He was less than a mile from Fenix's base. Fenix once more talked to him,  
  
"Kalis! What are you doing??? Where are you, for Adun's sake? AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!" Fenix was interrupted, as an ultralisk tore his dragoon shell casing. Kalis watched in horror as Fenix, one of the great Protoss heroes, bled into a pool of blue liquid before his very eyes.  
  
After Fenix's death, Kalis felt anger fill him, like never it had before. A powerful psionic wave surged through him as he psychically yelled, "Curse you, zerg! Curse you, Queen of Blades! You'll pay dearly for this!"  
  
Ashamed of not having been able to save Fenix, Kalis deserted the protoss army, thinking he didn't deserve to be in it. Now, he only had one true purpose: Revenge. That's what made him join Raynor's raiders. That's what motivated him to keep fighting day after day. He was now filled with rage; a rage that could only be stopped by Kerrigan's death.  
  
Flashback end  
  
Kalis didn't look at the time, and before he knew it, it was 2000 hours, point at which Raynor arrived, shortly after the dark templars. Raynor raised an eyebrow at the fallen nose-bleeding ghost operative and looked at the eye-glowing Kalis. Suffice to say, he understood more than the hapless ghost operative that if Kalis had not held back his full Protoss strength, he would be calling for a body bag instead. He looked atrociously tense as he said, "Guys, it's time to go. And can someone get a medic to take care of that nosebleed?"  
  
"This is it." Kalis thought. "Payback time. Kerrigan, get ready to pay for all those wasted lives. Even if you don't die, you'll live enough suffering for a lifetime." 


	10. Chapter 10 : a hallucinating alliance

Chapter 10: An Hallucinating Alliance  
  
Raynor and his extraction crew headed for the forest, hoping to find Kerrigan. Upon entering it, Kalis proposed, "How about we split up? We'll find Kerrigan much more quickly."  
  
Raynor asked, "But what if the zerg attack?"  
  
Kalis answered, "We just have to stay at visual range from each other. That way, we'll regroup quickly if there's trouble. Besides, it will be easier to spot a zerg attack if our people are scattered."  
  
Raynor answered, somehow a bit suspicious, "Alright. We'll do that, then." Jim called, "All of you, split up, but stay in constant radio contact. I want to know everything that's happening." He took his radio and said, "Kealer. Set up an outpost here and be ready for a zerg attack. Kerrigan's probably got some of her goons around."  
  
"Yes sir." Kealer answered.  
  
The crew nodded in unison and proceeded into the forest. There, a linear formation was formed, each member combing every inch of the jungle. Suddenly, Kalis and a Dark Templar felt a psychic anomaly. They could not feel Kerrigan's, the Zerg Queen's, disturbing and violent aura anymore. Instead, they felt the psyche of a distinct terran-like mind. The dark Templar didn't care. Intrigued, Kalis decided to search for it: Perhaps this terran might have seen Kerrigan. However, when he arrived at that aura's location, he saw something rather unexpected.  
  
There was no one to be seen. He was in a small clearing surrounded by trees and plants. Kalis focused upon the aura again only to detect another presence behind him. Alarmed, he deftly elbowed his assailant behind, sending it crashing onto the ground. A few seconds later, the translucent body of the zerg queen Kerrigan started to materialize in front of Kalis.  
  
He couldn't have been happier: his nemesis was finally lying in front of him, struck down by his own hand. But as happy as he was, Kalis was startled by the fact that the unknown aura to his realization was actually the untainted terran Sarah Kerrigan's. He had seen her in battle once and felt her untainted aura, which was now in every way similar. Realizing that, he asked,  
  
"Reveal your presence of mind, Queen of Blades. Why do I still sense the old Sarah Kerrigan in you?"  
  
She answered, smiling, "That's because I AM the Sarah Kerrigan I've been before. Tons of things happened to me recently."  
  
"What kind of things?"  
  
"Well, it'd be long to explain, but let's just say that I survived the overmind's mental conditioning."  
  
"Please explain to me."  
  
Kalis listened, intrigued, as Kerrigan told him everything, from the voice in her head to her escape. When she finished, Kalis asked,  
  
"By Adun! Are you serious? Your mental conditioning is truly broken?"  
  
"Well, yes and no. I'm back to normal for my conscious thoughts, but my reflexes and instincts are still zerg. In fact, as soon as I see Jim Raynor, my instincts become uncontrollable, making me too dangerous to bring back to your base while conscious. I think that I should be unconscious during the trip, just in case. I also have a permanent link to my cerebrates due to my zerg cellular structured neuron receptors." She pointed at a precise point located in the middle of her right side. "Even though it is removable, I lack the courage to cut it. And as long as I have it, my cerebrates will be able to track me down in mere seconds."  
  
"So, you want me to cut it?" Kalis asked, looking suspiciously at Kerrigan.  
  
"Regretfully, yes. Unless I am mistaken, you have your psi blades. Correct?"  
  
After saying that, Kerrigan froze, seeming terrified by something. Kalis asked, worried,  
  
"What is it? Are you all right?"  
  
"I am, but you and the rest of Raynor's raiders are in trouble."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Zerg are arriving. I can feel them."  
  
"Can't you control them?"  
  
"No... They seem to come from a renegade brood. One thing's for sure, though: You're in trouble. There are around one thousand of them. Over there!" She said, pointing west, to the top of a nearby hill, where a huge zerg ultralisk force was gathering.  
  
"WHAT THE????" Kalis radioed Raynor psionically and told him, "ZERG ULTRALISKS INCOMING FROM THE WEST!!!"  
  
Raynor answered, panicking, "F%%& SHIT!!!! EXTRACTION CREW! BACK TO BASE, NOW!!!!!!!"  
  
Kalis started running back towards his base, Kerrigan following him. Kalis asked, continuing to run,  
  
"Why are you running away? Aren't they your kind?"  
  
"You idiot! It's a renegade brood! They'll kill me at sight! I recognize this brood. They disappeared around the same time Duran did. My guess is that he's behind this assault. Where are my broods when I need them...Anyway, I need to go to your base. It's the only place in which I'd be safe. But how can I enter?"  
  
While she said this, Kalis felt something strange. It was like his body wasn't his anymore, like he was only a spectator of his own actions. He saw himself running towards Kerrigan and with one quick motion, hitting her neck with a substantial force, enough for her to fall unconscious. Then, the strange feeling disappeared and Kalis was now standing in front of an unconscious Kerrigan. "What can I do?" He thought, a bit confused,  
  
"If she is truly Sarah, then by Adun, curse my vengeance and let bygones be bygones. I shall return her to base, and pray she'll recover." He then took her on his shoulders and sprinted towards the base.  
  
Around fifteen minutes later, Kalis, who was still carrying Kerrigan, arrived at the base. It was not at all recognizable. SCVs were putting the finishing touches to the barracks and missile turrets swiftly with their fusion-cutters, as siege tanks were placed between them as artillery. Goliaths were behind as backup and vultures were finishing to place spider mines around the base. In the air, wraiths and valkyries were on the front line, patrolling around the base, ready for any assault, while science vessels were close behind, ready to use defensive matrixes.  
  
Kalis looked around and saw Raynor in his vulture, supervising all the work while placing spider mines around the base. Kalis gently dropped Kerrigan to the floor and ran towards Raynor, who said,  
  
"Kalis! I was starting to get worried. How come you took so long?"  
  
"I have recovered an old friend of yours. She's right over there," Kalis said, pointing towards the unconscious winged creature. "I had to knock her out."  
  
"Ok. Good job, Kalis. Thanks a lot. Hey you!" he said, pointing towards a huge, bulking marine. "Lock her up in the supply depot, and have a few guys guard her." he continued, pointing towards Kerrigan's unconscious body.  
  
"Sir, yes sir!" The marine said, as he headed out to carry the order, a disgusted look upon his face.  
  
Raynor turned back to Kalis. "By the way, our scanners have scanned the incoming units. They are a massive ground force, with a mixture of zerglings, hydralisks and ultralisks. Yet I saw them all as ultralisks the same as you. What do you think happened, Lieutenant?"  
  
Kalis thought for a while, and answered: "I have once heard of a protoss tribe who found a way to do hallucinations on themselves to disguise themselves as anything they wanted. Yet they are currently imprisoned for having murdered numerous other Protoss. You see, they do not take critics about their style well, especially from some of their own who had left the tribe shortly before."  
  
Raynor quickly headed towards the command center right after Kalis finished talking. Kalis followed him quickly and entered the command center. He asked the marine posted besides the door, "Where did Commander Raynor go?"  
  
The surprised marine answered, "To the comm. room, I think."  
  
"Thank you," Kalis answered. He headed towards a door with "communication room" written on it and entered.  
  
Raynor was speaking with Artanis, seemingly about a very serious matter. Raynor said,  
  
"Hey, I heard you imprisoned a protoss tribe that could produce hallucinations on themselves. Do you know who I mean?"  
  
"Yes. We know whom you speak of. You're talking about the Salaha tribe. But know that they're not here: They escaped from our prison and could be anywhere in the universe, for now."  
  
Raynor said, "Well, we think those guys might be here. You see, there's a zerg assault force heading towards my base and when we look at it, we see only ultralisks, while the scanners detect a mixture of zerg units. By the way, how can we differentiate if we're hitting the hallucination or the real thing inside?"  
  
"Simple, the hallucinations cause no heat..."  
  
Raynor interrupted Artanis, "...meaning if we could use infra-red sensors, we'll see them fine. Great! Thanks for the help, Artanis."  
  
"You're welcome, Raynor. By the way, if you capture any of them, please bring them back into our custody."  
  
"You got it. Bye!" Raynor turned off the comlink and turned his radio on, saying to all his men:  
  
"Ok boys! Listen up. A zerg assault is heading towards us. The thing is that most of them are disguised as ultralisks. But don't let that fool you, as most of them are zerglings or hydralisks, though there are a few ultralisks. Therefore, I'm issuing infrared goggles to everyone. Have them on at all times! And could someone ask Lieutenant Kealer to report to my quarters ASAP?"  
  
Raynor switched off his radio and turned around. He saw Kalis and jumped in surprise, then said, "Kalis! Didn't see you there. So, what's up?"  
  
"I propose we keep an eye out for those fugitives, just in case. They could even be in this base right now in their illusionary form. Be careful!"  
  
"Noted, lieutenant. Dismissed. I must head towards my quarters. I don't wanna keep Kealer waiting." With that, Raynor departed.  
  
"With them involved, this is not going to be easy," Kalis thought. He was the one who had arrested the Salaha, and he knew their power. As he looked at every other unit, he thought that some didn't look normal, but dismissed that thought. "I'm becoming paranoid with this group. I have to get ready for the battle." He then headed towards the cargo to get his equipment, knowing perfectly well that this battle was going to be tough. 


	11. Chapter 11 : The end of an alliance

Chapter 11: The End of an Alliance  
  
Raynor was in the command center, supervising the defense preparations. Kealer was besides him, impatiently waiting for the battle to start. Raynor radioed one of the base's technicians,  
  
"What's the ETA of the enemy forces?"  
  
"Thirty minutes at max, sir." A man answered.  
  
Raynor then said, "All SCV's must return to the Command Center immediately. I repeat, all SCV's must return to the Command Center." Raynor turned off his radio and asked Kealer, "How is Kerrigan holding up?"  
  
"The boys say she's awake, sir. They think she's a bit calm, though, especially in those circumstances. The Ghost operatives sensed that she's hiding something. Shall we interrogate her, sir?"  
  
"No, I'll take care of that."  
  
Raynor headed towards the supply depot Kerrigan was in. He saw Kalis in front of the door, looking quite nervous. Raynor asked him,  
  
"You are looking nervous, Kalis. What's wrong?"  
  
Kalis answered, "Nothing, I'm fine, sir." He paused for a brief moment, then continued, "Sir, if you're here to interrogate her, I advise you to forestall it."  
  
"I wanted to go ask her a few questions. What's the problem with that?"  
  
"For your own safety, don't."  
  
"I don't see the problem. Unless...Kalis, are you hiding something from me?"  
  
"It's a tale quite long to speak of, but if you want a short version, your presence may endanger her and yourself."  
  
"Okay. I'll take your word for it, Kalis. But when this is over, I want you to give me the full explanation of what's going on here."  
  
"Noted, commander." Kalis said, relieved that Raynor would stay outside. Shortly after going back to the command center, Raynor took his radio, adjusted the frequency and said,  
  
"Private, I want you to interrogate the prisoner--" Raynor whispered, turning to glance at Kalis- "—After the lieutenant is gone, is that clear?" he added.  
  
Kerrigan had just awakened. She was in a supply depot and five marines were around her, guarding her. She asked,  
  
"Where am I? What happened to me?" she croaked.  
  
The marine who had carried her there did not reply to that. Instead, he gave her an icy cold glare.  
  
A few moments later, Jim Raynor spoke in a guard's radio. The marine listened for a moment and said, "Yes sir!" He then said to Kerrigan:  
  
"Kerrigan, Commander Raynor has a few questions for you."  
  
"I understand. Go ahead." answered Kerrigan.  
  
"Are you the one who sent that huge force on our base?"  
  
"No. It seems to be a renegade brood."  
  
"Why do you mean by renegade brood, who are they.???...."  
  
The interrogation went on for a while, after which artillery fire was heard outside, soon followed by the sound of a zerg stampede and gauss rifles fires ringing through the air. The marine which had been interrogating Kerrigan contacted Raynor and said to the other guards,  
  
"Ok, guys. No matter what happens, we're to stay and protect Kerrigan at all costs. Is that clear?"  
  
"Sir, yes, sir." they replied in unison.  
  
A few minutes after the beginning of the battle, someone very familiar spoke to Kerrigan in her head, saying: "We will aid you, my Queen."  
  
Kerrigan said, surprised: "What the? D-Daggoth?"  
  
"Damn! That last wave was rough." Raynor said, a bit shocked by the sheer size of the huge attack. "Damage report!" he added.  
  
Kealer said, "The losses were minimal. We've still got 90% of our wraiths. Our tank squadron was pretty beaten up, but their artillery fire held our defenses together. Other than that, ten goliaths are gone, along with three marines casualties. Also, we have several structural damages, as at least five bunkers were destroyed, not to mention the military personnel in it.  
  
"All right." Raynor said. "Send all our SCVs, I want everything repaired ASAP. No breaks, and I mean it this time."  
  
"Yes sir!" Kealer said.  
  
Raynor turned towards Kalis.  
  
"Well, it's a good thing the men had their thermo-goggles or we would've been zerg meat. Anyway, do you still remember how you nailed those hallucination-guys? Do they have any more weakness?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
Kalis was interrupted as alarms sounded all over the base. Raynor asked Kealer:  
  
"What the hell is happening here?"  
  
"Sir! There are more zerg incoming from the east and the west! What shall we do, sir?"  
  
Raynor did not reply to that. "F#$#% zerg." Raynor cursed. He then received an incoming transmission. It was from the marine guarding Kerrigan. He said,  
  
"Sir! Kerrigan has something to tell you! I'll pass her the radio." A few seconds later, Kerrigan spoke,  
  
"Jim! The zerg from the east and the west are my broods. My cerebrates want me out of here!"  
  
Raynor swore under his breath and said,  
  
"Ok. Kealer! Are we gonna hold together?"  
  
Kealer answered, seeming bitter,  
  
"I doubt it, sir."  
  
"Ok. Time to put our evacuation plan I told you about in motion. Get our dropships out here! We'll evacuate from the south. Until the ships arrive, we'll have to hold them off as long as we can. I'll go now."  
  
Kealer answered, "Me too. Just give me time to fetch Mengsk's Zippo guys, they'll toast them."  
  
Kerrigan said, "What do I do?"  
  
Raynor answered, "Honey, you just be cute and stay put. You're their target. And unless my men are in trouble, we won't be serving you to their silver platter yet."  
  
Kerrigan answered, exasperated, "All right." Raynor turned off his radio and headed out of the base.  
  
When he was outside, he turned his radio on again. He started adjusting the frequency and suddenly stopped as he intercepted a conversation. He heard a marine say,  
  
"Yes, we'll eliminate him and Kerrigan after the mission."  
  
Arcturus Mengsk's voice was heard afterwards, saying,  
  
"You better. Jim's been a problem to us for far too long. He has to be eliminated as soon as possible. If you--"  
  
Raynor turned off his radio, too disgusted by Mengsk's attitude to hear another word.  
  
"I should have known. This joint combat troops alliance was a big bull-. So the turncoat Mengsk wants Kerrigan and me 'out' again. Damn you, Mengsk. You'll pay for this. But why did you forget your IJS?" Raynor turned once more his radio on, called Kalis and said,  
  
"Kalis? There's a change of plans. Go get Kerrigan immediately. After that, go see the arbiter who recalled us here and wait for further instructions."  
  
Kalis answered, "Understood. I'm going now."  
  
"Good luck, Kalis." Raynor said as he waited for Kealer, who came out a few minutes later, with all his firebat equipment on. He said to Raynor,  
  
"Sir! I'm ready to go, and Mengsk's Zippo guys are already on the front line!"  
  
"Come with me, Kealer. We need to go away from here right now."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Follow me, and I'll tell you. For now, you only need to know that Mengsk's turning against us again." After Raynor finished speaking, Kealer and him dashed away towards the arbiter Raynor had borrowed from Artanis. 


	12. Chapter 12 : a needed departure

Chapter 12: A Needed Departure  
  
Kerrigan was inside the supply depot, walking around nervously. One of the marines guarding her said,  
  
"Hey, zerg face! Stop moving around!"  
  
"Shut up!" Kerrigan said, a nervous tone in her voice. The marine looked particularly irritated with that response. He lost patience and hit Kerrigan hard on the back of the head with the butt of his Gauss rifle, causing her to fall down, unconscious. Another marine said,  
  
"You $$hole, we have to protect her for now."  
  
The first marine answered, "Yeah. Like I care. We have to kill her when this is over anyway. How about getting it over with now? We could say she escaped using her psychic power thing, while in the meantime, we bury or burn the body."  
  
The other marine, along with the rest of Kerrigan's guards, seemed to find this idea particularly interesting, but they didn't have time to say their opinion, as a psionic storm engulfed almost all of them, killing them instantly. The only remaining marine couldn't escape, however, as a canister pierced his heart, with another bursting through his skull soon after. Standing in front of the corpses of the dead guards were a high templar and none other than Samir Duran.  
  
Duran had a wide smile when he saw Kerrigan, completely knocked out. He said,  
  
"Thank you very much, Tarrat. Thanks to your great work, our goal is right in front of us."  
  
The tall, dark-looking high templar answered, "We're even now, Mr. Duran. Now, shall we?" Tarrat paused, when a familiar voice was heard behind them, saying,  
  
"No, you shall NOT!"  
  
Kalis then appeared in between Duran and the very surprised Tarrat. He swung his psi-blades at Tarrat's throat, but Tarrat dodged quickly and fell on his back, breathing heavily.  
  
Kalis heard an audible click behind him, and Duran said, his rifle pointed at the back of Kalis' head,  
  
"A real warrior like you should know never to forget an opponent, even if he isn't of your species."  
  
"You won't kill me." Kalis said, confident.  
  
"Why is that?" Duran asked, annoyed.  
  
A ghost's voice was heard besides Duran, saying,  
  
"Cause even a powerful infested ghost like you won't survive three armor- piercing canisters fired at your skull." Three ghosts then de-cloaked, their guns pointed to Duran's head. They were the three ghosts of the extraction crew.  
  
Tarrat tried to summon a psionic storm, but he felt a blade pressed against his neck as a cloaked dark templar said,  
  
"Definitely not a good idea."  
  
Duran cringed at his failure to get Kerrigan. He said to Kalis,  
  
"You idiot. Do you have any idea what Mengsk will do to her when you'll have finished your mission?"  
  
"He'll let us turn her back to her terran self."  
  
Duran had a small smirk, "On the contrary, he wants her infested DNA. With it, his new genetically enhanced soldiers will come after all of you and obliterate you easily. And when he'll be done, he'll kill her."  
  
Kalis frowned, "Nonetheless, I'm leaving."  
  
Duran looked surprised, "What do you mean?"  
  
"Commander Raynor told me to get Kerrigan and leave this base. With what you just said, I think it's because this is Mengsk's strike force. Why do you think I came here?"  
  
Duran laughed and said, "Well, your leader is well informed. Anyway, we have the same goal, so I won't get in your way...for now." Duran pressed a button on the side of his suit, and a swirling energy engulfed both him and Tarrat, making them both disappear seconds later.  
  
Kalis looked at the members of the extraction crew, blessing the moment he thought of taking them with him. Kalis glanced at Kerrigan for a second and then turned the crew, instructing,  
  
"Alright. Scour the area for Mengsk's subordinates while I take Kerrigan away. When I'll leave the base, I'll give you further instructions."  
  
The crew saluted and went outside to patrol the area. Kalis was thinking, "Great. I once more have to save the person I hate the most. Why do I do this?" He then took Kerrigan on his shoulders and headed outside the base, after which he ordered the extraction crew to go to the arbiter's location, before heading there himself.  
  
Upon his arrival, he saw Raynor, Kealer and the pilots of GS 1, 2 and 3 who had escorted the arbiter on Char. After Kalis and the extraction crew arrived, Raynor spoke,  
  
"Listen up, guys. Since you're the only Raynor Raiders in this camp, I have to talk to you. Here is some bad news. I intercepted one of Mengsk's communications in which he clearly said he wanted to kill me. In other words, he's turnin' on us and we're dead if we don't hightail it out of here! That's why I wanted you to come here. Up-link yourselves on the arbiter's recall programming." The men did so, and Kalis took care of programming Kerrigan. She was still unconscious from the marine's vicious hit. Raynor, after noticing this, asked Kalis to go see him. He asked,  
  
"Kalis, why is she unconscious again?"  
  
"I don't know. She was already like that when I arrived. Here is something you must know, sir..." Kalis then explained to Raynor Duran's attempted abduction and the information he had gotten from him. Raynor said, after Kalis finished:  
  
"Well, that explains why Mengsk's troops in this base haven't turned on us yet. They need me to keep Kerrigan alive and hold off the zerg attack. In any case, I'm gonna disappoint them, cause we need to reach the rest of my troops on Aiur ASAP."  
  
The arbiter pilot interrupted Raynor and said,  
  
"Sir, all the men have been up-linked on my arbiter's recall function. I'll open a warp to Aiur as soon as I arrive."  
  
"ETA?" Raynor asked.  
  
"Ten to twenty terran minutes."  
  
"Ok. Thanks." Raynor turned towards his men and said:  
  
"Guys, we gotta pretend we're doing everything to hold the zerg attack, except for Kalis, who'll continue taking care of Kerrigan until further notice, therefore staying in this forest. We'll leave in 10 to 20 minutes. Understood?"  
  
Kalis nodded and took Kerrigan on his shoulders once more and headed deeper in the forest. The rest of Raynor's men seemed completely shocked, not only by the sudden departure, but also by Mengsk's betrayal. Raynor thought this was typical Mengsk attitude. Betraying his allies as soon as he's done with them, like they'd only be pawns.  
  
Fifteen minutes passed slowly, as Raynor's men were pretending nothing had happened, while the zerg attack clearly became much less ferocious. After that time, Raynor and his men, located all over the base, were each individually engulfed in a swirling blue energy. Seconds later, they disappeared from the surface of Arenil to land on Aiur shortly after. Raynor opened his eyes, only to see a shocking site... 


	13. Chapter 13 : A time of new alliances

Chapter 13: A Time of New Alliances  
  
Raynor gaped at the base with horror. It had been nuked.  
  
Corpses were lying everywhere and medics were rushing to soothe the wounded people who screamed with pain, some mutilated beyond recognition. All the buildings were scorched and torn by the raw power of the impact. Raynor was feeling as though he was going to be sick from such a sight. Samir Duran's voice was heard on his left, completely calm, saying,  
  
"This is what'll happen if Mengsk gets Kerrigan," the voice echoed.  
  
Raynor jolted in surprise. He looked around and saw Samir Duran on his left, a rifle strapped on his back.  
  
Angry, Raynor said, "YOU! What is this?"  
  
Duran answered, simply,  
  
"Don't worry. This isn't your base." He then pressed a few buttons on his wristband and the site of the destroyed base faded away, showing a metallic dome. Duran continued. "This was just a simulation. I needed to show you this to make you understand the current situation." He stopped talking, as Raynor was looking around for the extraction crew, which was unfortunately not there. Seeing that, Duran said, "Your extraction crew is with your main force on Aiur, and so is Kerrigan. I only transferred your recall here to have a word with you. We both want information. I only want an exchange."  
  
Raynor, tense, said, "What information would you have for me?"  
  
"Well, first, Kerrigan's mind is that of her older self, for one. It's no longer influenced by the zerg." Hearing this, Raynor said: "Yeah, right. Do you have any proof?"  
  
Duran smiled and answered, "How come Kerrigan didn't try to leave your base when you had her?"  
  
"She didn't want to get killed by the guards. That's why."  
  
"That's ridiculous, she is the most powerful entity in the Kopruru sector. And you're telling me she's afraid of your guards? Alright, then why did she seem panicking when she told you her cerebrates wanted her away?"  
  
"Well...Hey, how did you know about that?"  
  
"I have ears that can hear you from miles away."  
  
"What???"  
  
Raynor seemed surprised that Duran could hear that far. "Then again", he thought, "maybe those ears aren't his. Maybe he has a spy." Duran smiled and said,  
  
"I don't have a spy. Your communications are easy to intercept, Raynor, especially by shooting the base's IJS. It's as simple as that."  
  
Seeing Raynor's puzzled expression, he continued, "By the way, you of all people should remember ghosts could read minds. With one of the memories that I just saw...Kerrigan is right. You ARE a pig."  
  
Raynor smiled, embarrassed, but something was bothering him. He asked, "If Kerrigan is back to normal, how come Kalis wanted me to stay away from her?"  
  
"I eavesdropped upon his brief conversation with Kerrigan. For what I heard, she still has her zerg instincts, which are particularly deadly when she sees you. I can't blame her. You've been torn in her flesh, but at the same time, her humanity," he paused, staring at Raynor's perplexed face, "Indeed, she still has feelings for you. Because of it, she is resisting her zerg instincts as we speak." Duran paused to let the fact sink into Jim Raynor, who was speechless.  
  
Duran stared pensively at him for a moment. Jim Raynor shook his head and responded with a small nod.  
  
"It's your turn to explain something," Duran told Jim Raynor, "That treatment your medics created. Can it remove all zerg mental conditioning?"  
  
"The nano-mach restores them to their original human DNA, with that, all zerg thoughts and instincts are out. So, yes."  
  
Duran said, "Do you think your medics could help me?"  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
  
"I have eluded myself from the control of my former masters, but even now I am struggling with the zerg mental conditioning, though I can think freely for now."  
  
"Okay. My crew's going to help you out if you want. Head towards Aiur anytime you----." Before he could finish, he felt as though he was again being recalled. He disappeared from the metallic dome, to really end up on Aiur seconds later, near the extraction crew who looked panicked. Kealer asked Raynor,  
  
"Sir! Are you all right? How come you weren't recalled with the rest of us?"  
  
"Duran intercepted my recall and we had a little chat. He might come by later. If he does, do NOT kill him or hurt him in any way."  
  
Kalis quizzed, confused, "Why?"  
  
"He wants to get rid of all of the mental conditioning the zerg gave him. Well, that's what he says, anyway. By the way..." Raynor said, looking around, "Where's Kerrigan?"  
  
A female medic spoke behind him, saying, "Sir! We currently are preparing her treatment. In fifteen to twenty minutes, she'll be treatable."  
  
Raynor said to the medic, "Good. Give her the maximum dosage of nano-machs. With her infested DNA, we gotta be ready for anything. Get it done, doctor."  
  
The medic saluted and headed towards the infirmary. Raynor asked Kalis to go see him. He asked,  
  
"Duran told me what you were hiding from me. Kalis, why didn't you tell me about the fact that Kerrigan's gotten her human thoughts back?"  
  
Kalis explained, carefully, "First, I didn't have time. Second, if you would have known, you would have insisted on seeing her, even though her instincts would have caused her to kill you. It was for...."  
  
A marine had just arrived. He interrupted Kalis, "Sir, there's a problem over at the east of the planet. Mengsk and all of his men have just left without notice." The marine then headed back towards the command center.  
  
Raynor swore under his breath and said to his two lieutenants, "You two, organize the defences. Tell the guys not to let a single dominion unit in. Also, Samir Duran is not to be harmed in any way and he will have maximum, but supervised, access to the base, is that clear?"  
  
Kalis and Kealer nodded and went to organize the defences. Raynor turned to the three ghosts and the three dark templars of the extraction crew and said,  
  
"You guys just have to head towards your quarters for now. I'll contact you if I need you. Dismissed."  
  
When everybody was gone, Raynor tuned his radio and said,  
  
"To all of Raynor's raiders. This is commander Raynor. I have multiple announcements to make. Let's start with the bad news. Mengsk is after us once more and he'll stop at nothing to try and kill us. Because of that, we'll reinforce security around here. Lieutenants Kalis and Kealer are in charge of that. Now, for some better news, we managed to catch Kerrigan. We'll get her treated today, though she'll still look like a zerg for at least a month. So, don't be surprised if you see her around and do not-I repeat- DO NOT try to kill or harm her, no matter what the Zerg have done to you or your loved ones. Commander Raynor, over and out."  
  
Raynor headed to the medical facility. The head medic saluted and guided him to the treatment room. Kerrigan floated in green liquid, a helmet plugged onto her head. Her eyes were closed. She was ready to be treated. Raynor sat in a chair, and a helmet was firmly placed on his chair by the head medic. Raynor looked around and saw Dark Archons assisting the medics, plugging different wires on themselves. They would provide the necessary energy to weaken Kerrigan's mind defenses.  
  
"Begin." The head medic said, pale, crossing her fingers.  
  
Immediately, Raynor saw the Dark Archons releasing their energy. It came through the wires and hit Kerrigan head on, who winced from the pain. Raynor then felt as though a part of him was being taken. He took a deep breath and saw Kerrigan holding her head, screaming with all her lungs. The Zerg instincts had been very firmly implanted onto her by the Overmind.  
  
Then, suddenly, she stopped screaming. She just wept, trying to calm down. Her body was still infested, but any trace of her conditioning was gone.  
  
"Begin treating the body." Raynor said.  
  
"NO!" Kerrigan yelled. "Just...leave me like this."  
  
"What?" Raynor said. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yes. I...can still control my broods. Please, let me keep this body..." She fainted, exhausted.  
  
"Put her in an infirmary bed." Raynor said to the medics. "We'll respect her wishes."  
  
"Yes, sir!" The medics quickly carefully picked her up. As she was being carried, Kerrigan said faintly:  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Five days later, Duran arrived on Aiur. He landed his scout (which he stole when he freed the Salaha tribe) on the frontier of the Protoss home world. Then, he was surprised to see a mixture of zerg, protoss and terran forces guarding the planet. He said to one of the terran guards,  
  
"Ah, excuse me, but can I pass? Raynor's been expecting me. I'm Samir Duran."  
  
The marine radioed Raynor. Afterwards, he said, "Raynor says you can pass. Follow me, sir. I'll take you to the medical facility."  
  
Duran nodded and followed the marine into a transport, which brought him to a huge building with a red cross on it. No one really remembered what the red cross meant, but all terrans knew it as a sign of a medical institution. Duran went in the building. The marine followed him. Duran said,  
  
"No need to follow me everywhere. I can do it alone from here."  
  
The marine answered, "Sorry, sir. I have my orders."  
  
"Great." Duran thought. "I'll have to wait before collecting information. Well, I can at least start with him." He turned to the marine and asked,  
  
"By the way, how come zerg, protoss and terran units guard this planet?"  
  
"The terrans are, of course, us, Raynor's raiders. For the protoss, this is the protoss home world of Aiur, so it only makes sense they have some of their people guarding it. And for the zerg, well, Kerrigan, from what I've heard, after getting treated for whatever was in her head, decided to keep that f$/%?& zerg body. So, she still controls her broods and she sent a few of 'em to guard us."  
  
Duran smiled. He never could have guessed that the situation would be this good. He didn't have much left to do, as the last remaining problem was Mengsk. He'd never agree to follow Duran's plan. "Bah, I'll think about it later. Right now, I'd better just get treated. It'll be easier to think without that blasted mind conditioning." And with that, he went to see the medic on duty, luckily having met her before while serving in the Confederacy, and he got treated, though for a reason he didn't want to explain, he wanted his body to stay infested, for now. 


	14. Chapter 14 : The warrior of peace

Chapter 14: The Warrior of Peace  
  
Duran, now completely treated, was now in one of the infirmary beds. Sure, he felt much better, but his treatment was a mere excuse to get information. He shrugged at what he had been forced to do to get Raynor to trust him. It wasn't his style to act all weak and unsure of himself. However, he got the information he wanted, as Raynor and Kerrigan had come by to speak to him earlier. Kerrigan, though she was still in her infested body, was looking completely different from before. She was smiling. Not one of those sadistic, evil smiles, but a real, tender, happy smile. Duran couldn't help but think that it wasn't Kerrigan; there were so many differences with the one he had once known as the Queen of Blades. He permeated Kerrigan's mind to assure himself of her identity, and what he saw made him feel relief. It also showed him that Raynor wasn't the only "pig" around.  
  
Now, Raynor had left and Kerrigan was sleeping in another bed of the infirmary. Nevertheless, Duran was still trying to process the recent events and to grasp all he had discovered. From what he knew, all of the K- sector's factions had united, except the Terran Dominion. Even if now he was about to face an incredibly huge force, Mengsk wouldn't surrender. He was too foolishly proud. Because of that, there would be a war, which would cost thousands, even millions of lives. Duran was starting to feel bad. His mission was precisely to avoid this kind of bloody conflict. A mission he would need to accomplish at all costs.  
  
Flashback  
  
Duran, serving Kerrigan, was starting to prepare for the final battle of the Brood War, but he felt something calling him, something too strong to resist. Even though he realized that Kerrigan would probably kill him for such an act of desertion, he left to answer the call. Days later, he managed to reach to an aquatic planet of the source, which was in an uncharted solar system. The planet contained a huge Xel' Naga structure, similar to one in the Dark Templar home world Shakuras, with the difference that it was hidden in a valley of green flora, with vines enveloping its walls and doors.  
  
Duran went in, anxious, but fearless for some reason. As he climbed up toward the decrepit temple's tower, voices began to stir whispers; voices that he deduced belonged to the architects of this sacred temple. When he reached the top of the tower, a sudden overwhelming sense of fear engulfed him. He needed to flee. He needed to leave now.  
  
It was actually a Déjà vu.  
  
He paused for a long moment, until finally it dawned upon him; it was similar to the temple summit where Atlantis and Zeratul stood with the light and dark crystals during the Brood War. He had never seen it, but somehow he knew.  
  
Soon, the whispers stopped for a moment, then a clear voice shook him. "Duran" The name echoed throughout the valley. "Duran"  
  
The voices revealed themselves as the ancient ones of the Xel' Naga, the ones who created the three species at war. Curious, Duran wondered. Was humanity the product of the Xel' Naga?  
  
They sensed his inquisition. "Indeed" It was as if the word was spoken an ancient language and Duran, though he didn't know why, understood effortlessly. It was so strange.  
  
The Xel' Naga requested Duran to bring the three species together, to protect the galaxy. They explained that it was their original purpose to do so, as the K-sector was, according to them, in danger. It was supposedly a threat that all species would have to face together. To finish, one of the voices had said,  
  
"You are our warrior out there. The warrior of peace."  
  
Duran did not understand it, but it was as if every cell in his body told him to obey instinctively. It was as if the genetic product cultured within him after millions of years of evolution was beckoning him to learn and listen, with his undivided attention.  
  
And so, the spirits touched him.  
  
He stared into infinity, not caring if his eyes were strained or his pupil had dilated significantly. A powerful psychic wave surged throughout the temple, the globe, spanning across the entire solar system, and who knows how far.  
  
Duran had felt a sense of completion he had never felt before, pride he would have never acknowledged in his human ancestry. He was spirited, in a state of Elysium.  
  
The former ghost operative, the former soldier of Kerrigan, Samir Duran, was 'reborn'.  
  
He was the child emerging from his mother's womb, having to breathe life for the first time, so intense that his legs gave away and his knees caught the floor, and finally he broke into a storm of tears.  
  
Even if the cold wind blew across his face on the temple summit, he was still weeping, as the night's light shone on him.  
  
Finally the first light of day dawned on his face. He tasted his salty lips, as his tears had dried. He had been kneeing for hours on a solid rock pavement. Sure, his knees ached, but it didn't matter, as the voice of truth was very present in his mind. He had found it. He did not need to think, nor doubt those words from his creator. This was his birthright, his fate. Duran had been endowed with a celestial mission, one that he would live to accomplish, as he went to find allies.  
  
Duran started by getting one of Kerrigan's best broods to follow him. Soon after, he freed the imprisoned Salaha tribe from the Prison planet Termanot- pulah. Then he heard of the battle on Char. Though he didn't have many allies, he went there with them, determined to stop this war once and for all. He saw Kerrigan escape in a wraith, followed her, and tried to bring her to him by mind-controlling Kalis when he was near her, though the protoss warrior took control of his body again just in time to take Kerrigan back to the terran base, leading to the events you already know of (see the two previous chapters).  
  
Flashback end  
  
Duran, though his mission was nearly complete, just couldn't find a way to take Mengsk out of the picture. He was too strong mentally to be mind- controlled, he never would be alone in a vulnerable position and all his troops always had a special psychic-deflector chip surgically placed in their heads. Besides, he had let the Salaha go, as they had accomplished their part of the deal, while his renegade brood was far away. "Damn it." He thought, "The only way to make it would be to sneak inside his mansion and shoot him, but even that's impossible: his mansion's so well equipped; even a mosquito would have trouble sneaking through." He then lost patience and yelled out loud: "This is impossible!"  
  
Kerrigan, which was looking as though Duran had just woken her up with his yelling, said, "Ghosts aren't supposed to be afraid of some difficulty. Duran, aren't you supposed to be one of the best? Anyway, about whatever is that hard, do what you want but let me sleep." And with that, Kerrigan lay in her bed and tried to sleep once more. She couldn't and, noticing that, said, "How about I help you out? I can't sleep anyway."  
  
Duran nodded and explained everything to her, causing her to open her mouth in awe. She said,  
  
"Wow. Now this is big. Anyway, I can't stand Mengsk either, so count me in." After she said that, they both went to take their things and headed out of the base. This would be hard, but Kerrigan was right: ghosts aren't supposed to be afraid of anything.  
  
Kalis was thrashing around his quarters. How could he have not guessed that Mengsk wanted to kill all of Raynor's Raiders? First, he fails to guess Kirger's true allegiance, and now this. This time, though, it wouldn't be Raynor who would take care of the traitor. Kalis promised to take care of it himself, not knowing the consequences or caring about his own safety. He ran to the door of his quarters, opened it, and saw Zeratul waiting in front of it. Zeratul said, looking suspiciously at Kalis,  
  
"En Taro Adun, Kalis. Now, did I not say that you should never go out on your own? What are you intentions?"  
  
"What do you think? I want the head of the terran emperor Arcturus Mengsk."  
  
Zeratul sighed and said, "It is unwise. Do you not know that Mengsk's manor is heavily guarded?"  
  
Kalis calmed down and answered reluctantly "No. I do not think of such things."  
  
Zeratul sighed once more, "Yet you still want to kill him. Indeed, we all share this deep hatred for the treacherous emperor. But stop acting like a terran! You mustn't let anger blind you. You can't kill him alone. To do so, you'll need help. My help." He said, a glow in his eyes showing his will to fight.  
  
Kalis nodded, as eager to fight as Zeratul was, and walked out of the base with him. Destination: Korhal. 


	15. Final chapter: Duran's stand

Chapter 15: Duran's stand  
  
The transport slowly made its descent onto the desert sands of Korhal, permeating through the atmosphere, registering as a legitimate Dominion dropship to of all of Emperor Mengsk's spy-satellites on the northern hemisphere. Two terrans looked extremely tense, but focused, concentrating their energies on their hallucinogenic presence, a little trick taught to Duran by his rogue protoss allies.  
  
The two were watching the pentagon-shaped militaristic fortress grow larger and larger as the slightly tanned ghost peeked at the overlord's internal eye receptors, slightly perturbed at the sight of hundreds of siege tanks, blocks of military barracks, and fifty or more Goliath units patrolling the compound vigilantly; all surrounding the castle-like mansion at the centre of the impenetrable fortress. Arcturus Mengsk's secret stronghold was no more a secret, all thanks to Duran's spies.  
  
The enigmatic Samir Duran smiled and spoke with sarcasm, still disguised by his hallucination,  
  
"What a fun hike this will be. First, I'll have to avoid the guards that I can see. Second, I'll have to avoid the heat detectors that I CAN'T see, not to mention the multiple motion-tracking 50mm gun turrets, which are surely around. All that with the one infested ghost who enslaved me and seriously thought of killing me."  
  
Kerrigan sighed and said, "Fun indeed. By the way, let's just communicate psychically to avoid being heard."  
  
Duran nodded as a door opened, allowing him to get out of the dropship, followed by Kerrigan.  
  
The technicians and pilots on the spaceport stared at the illusive scene as the drop-bay doors opened and two lowly-ranked officers came out. The two then walked towards Mengsk's mansion in a casual manner. Half way there, one of the officers took his heat-detecting goggles and put them on, though he seemed not to like them much, as he mentally said to his partner,  
  
"Kerrigan, those goggles itch, not to mention they make me look like a complete moron."  
  
Kerrigan smiled and said, "What else is new? Now, please stop complaining and start looking around for those heat-detectors!!! You-know, you never fussed like this when you were my slave." she added with a wryly smile on her face.  
  
Duran grimaced at his former master for a second, then scanned around the area. Before he could say anything, though, something grabbed the two and prodded a sharp object against their necks. One of them whispered,  
  
"Kerrigan! Duran! By Adun! What are you doing here?"  
  
The clandestine warriors let go of Duran and Kerrigan, who turned around and saw that the ones holding them were actually Zeratul and Kalis. Duran smirked and answered mentally,  
  
"I think you should answer that question yourself, but I'd be ready to bet all I have that you want Mengsk's head. Am I right?" The two protoss warriors nodded. Duran continued, "Well, it seems we're here for the same reason. Let's just go together. Ah, by the way, I didn't even feel your heat as you approached. How did you do that?"  
  
Zeratul answered: "Simple enough: temperature inhibitors. They're common among the Dark Templars; after all, we're all about stealth, aren't we? Nonetheless, I brought two spare ones, just----'in case', as you would say. Would you care to use them?" Zeratul took out two disc-shaped devices.  
  
Kerrigan smiled and answered, "Why not?"  
  
Duran and Kerrigan took the shields from Zeratul's hands and put them on, causing them to be engulfed in dark blue light, which became translucent seconds later. When they were done, Kalis said,  
  
"Well, since we are ready, let's go." He then started to dash through, but Duran held his arm and shook his head as he said,  
  
"Those guys have more than just heat detectors. They have motion-tracking guns. And YES, they can see through cloaking." He added, seeing Zeratul was about to ask something. Duran continued, "We'll need to snipe them off from afar, unless you'd rather dash at 100 kilometers a second to make them overheat."  
  
Kalis moaned and told him, "Alright."  
  
Duran and Kerrigan, thanks to Duran's heat-detecting goggles, sniped off the metallic spider-like devices plastered on the ground in no time at all. They sneaked past the guards easily and arrived in front of the mansion itself. When they arrived, Duran mentally spoke to the others,  
  
"Okay, people. We're here. I know you're feeling useless, guys...." He said, looking at Zeratul and Kalis "....but we'll have to snipe Mengsk off. We can't just barge in there. When he'll be dead, though, all this base's alarms are going to go ballistic. How do you intend to leave?"  
  
Zeratul answered, "Easy. My corsair and Kalis' scout are both landed nearby."  
  
Duran said, "Good. Kerrigan, you know that place a bit, right?"  
  
Kerrigan said, "Yeah. It's his father's old mansion. When I was his lieutenant, this was the place of choice for strategic meetings. Needless to say, I know this place by heart. His office should be there." She pointed towards a window, at the second floor. "Now, let's go!"  
  
Duran readied his rifle. Kerrigan shook her head. "No, Duran, contrarily to what you had planned, we can't snipe him off." She continued, seeing Duran's disappointed face. "There are trees in front of his office's window, so we have no clear shot. You see them like I do. You know, I would like to see you do it, Duran. So..." She looked at Zeratul and Kalis "you two won't be so useless after all." The two protoss warriors nodded. Kerrigan continued, "Now, can you use your psionic powers to reach that window?"  
  
Kalis shook his head and Zeratul nodded. Kerrigan sighed, "Okay, then. I'll have to go with Zeratul, just in case. My powers alone aren't enough to get me up there, but those legs...." she pointed towards her infested legs "are powerful enough. Duran, Kalis, you are our look-outs." The two nodded, though they seriously looked annoyed of letting others take care of Mengsk.  
  
Kerrigan and Zeratul ran towards the trees and leaped over them, exerting much force onto their legs. They grabbed onto the windowstill perfectly, and then peeked. Mengsk was looking at some documents, and he didn't see them arrive. Kerrigan told Zeratul mentally,  
  
"Take out the guards. I'll take care of Mengsk."  
  
Kerrigan cloaked and Zeratul navigated his way to a balcony nearby, shortly landing in front of the door. Somehow, the red goggle-wearing guards spotted him and reached for their guns, as Zeratul sprinted towards them. They poured rampant fire with their C-14 Gauss Rifles, connecting with the dark templar's shield, but the Protoss wasn't about to take any more of this. He deftly somersaulted into the air and literally flew over them, unleashing two deadly swipes of his blade. With that, the guards' heads rolled onto the ground.  
  
While the dark templar fought off the guards, Kerrigan tightened her mighty claws and then threw herself in the window, crashing through the glass, acrobatically landing on her feet in a cat-like grace. She raised her canister rifle, the red dot of the targeting laser pointing at Mengsk's head, and fired, piercing the head like butter. At that, Zeratul told Kerrigan:  
  
"The fiend shall reap what he sows."  
  
Kerrigan didn't answer. She was looking at the body of Mengsk. For some reason, it looked as though electric sparks were coming out of the impact. Also, there was no blood. Kerrigan realized what happened. She said: "Oh, no. Not again..." She pulled Zeratul by the arm and jumped out of the window, with Zeratul following her close behind. He asked:  
  
"What exactly..." A loud explosion from Mengsk's office interrupted him. After, he continued: "What in Adun's name?"  
  
Kerrigan said: "A drone with Mengsk's appearance. I had a bad experience with something like that before..." They landed, as Duran's voice interrupted her. He said angrily: "Aren't you supposed to be stealthy? What was that explosion?" Kalis continued: "If you wanted to activate the alarms, mission accomplished." The four warriors stood while all the alarms went off. Duran yelled: "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" The four dashed away but quickly, Mengsk's entire guard was in front of them, with Mengsk seemingly right in the middle. Duran sighed and said:  
  
"Geez. How can we leave?"  
  
Kerrigan said: "All of us can cloak, except Kalis." Kalis interrupted her: "Wrong. Raynor lent me an artificial cloaking device a while ago and I "forgot" to give it back." Kerrigan continued: "All right, then. With the temperature-blocking shield and the cloaking, we should be fine to reach our scouts and corsairs. Now, let's go!"  
  
Duran shook his head: "Go without me. I have to take care of something."  
  
Kerrigan said, angry: "You idiot! I know what you want to do, but you'll get killed!"  
  
Duran answered: "Like I care." Kerrigan looked at him. For some reason, a strange glow was in his eyes, a bit like the protoss, but somehow stronger. He continued: "War has torn everyone apart for far too long. It's time to end it." He paused as he looked into the others' faces, and added: "Go now, guys. And in the future, face threats together. Fight as one." Zeratul and Kalis seemed confused, but Kerrigan understood. He had told her about the "threat" that would arrive. She told the two others to follow her. Duran smiled. He walked in front of Mengsk's army, not even bothering to cloak. He yelled out:  
  
"All right, Mengsk, you $$hole! Come out and face me!!!"  
  
Mengsk's men were confused at first, but a voice came from behind, saying: "Alright. I'll face you like a man, though you're hardly one anymore." Mengsk's men split into two lines, letting Mengsk go through. As he arrived in front of him, Duran spat on the Emperor, a disgusted look upon his face. To Duran's surprise, the spit hit something solid in front of Mengsk. The latter smiled and said:  
  
"As bad as before, are you? He he. Thanks to my shield, I just saved my shirt. How amusing." He laughed.  
  
It was Duran's turn to smile. He placed his palm in front of him, and suddenly, a ray of lightning shot out, hitting the shield, which shattered into one thousand pieces. Seeing this, Mengsk's men pointed Duran with their weapons, ready to shoot.  
  
Then, something seemed to awaken in Duran. He could feel intense energy within him all surging to get out. He went blank. His eyes drowned into blue flames, his face became rippled with his bulging nerves and he spoke, in an inhuman voice:  
  
"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN US? WE, THE XEL NAGA, SHALL YET BE REVERED....YOUR IMPERTINENCE SHALL BE PUNISHED...AND..."  
  
Duran opened his hands "YOU...SHALL...SEE..." he gathered energy in his hands "OUR...WRATH!" His hands opened and a blinding blue lightning escaped for his palms, engulfing him, Mengsk and Mengsk's army. Mengsk shielded himself with his arm from the lightning, but it touched him. His body dramatically turned into a pale husk as every cell in his body responded freakishly, as if into the lightning's ancient command. He gritted hard into agonising fear as he watched his hand and his entire body consumed by a thousand blisters, and screamed, "What is this? WHAT IS THISS-- NOOOO...uhk...ack ," he was cut off by the disintegration of his vocal cords. His blisters burst into pockets of fire until finally a fiery death greeted him, along with his men.  
  
Duran, with a sadistic smile, closed his hands, and the power closed in on the ones, as Mengsk and his men were razed into white ashes onto the ground.  
  
After the light disappeared, Duran realised he was dying. The power had given him more than he bargained for. Pain, strong pain, filled his body, which had been burned badly by the thunder. He couldn't move. Even the slightest attempt to move his finger felt like torture. It was only a matter of minutes before he'd die. The familiar voice of the Xel' Naga then spoke in his mind once more:  
  
"Well done, great warrior. Your mission is successful."  
  
Duran answered, gritting his teeth at the pain he felt: "Yeah, like I'll live to tell the tale..."  
  
"Great warrior, the reason you are dying is that your body was not powerful enough to handle the power you have been given. Yet don't be disappointed. Many others of your species would have died long before you did. You fought well. We are proud. Now, it is time for you to rest."  
  
"And what'll happen to you?"  
  
"Do not worry. We've found someone else who'll help us, now that you'll be gone."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"It is not important. Just rest for now...and forever."  
  
Duran didn't say anything as he fell to the ground; the lightning's burns had finally killed him. And as the coldness of death crept into his body, a smirk carved in his lips. His mission was accomplished, his life was completed, and he would now rest in peace.  
  
The end 


End file.
